Film History & Movements Codexery

Cinema of Egypt

Egyptian cinema is a pioneer in African and Arab film industries.

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The Egyptian film industry is based mainly in Cairo, which is sometimes called Hollywood on the Nile or Hollywood of the Middle East.[1] Egypt has produced more than 4,000 films since 1896, and roughly three-quarters of all Arab world screen output comes from Cairo.[1][2] Within African and Arab film industries, Egypt's cinema is regarded as a pioneering force.[2]

Making and release

The earliest projections using a Lumière cinematograph in Egypt took place on 15 November 1896 at the Toussoun Exchange in Alexandria.[3] In 1911, the first law on cinema in Egypt was adopted.[3] The first periodical review on film, "Animated Images", was published in 1923 by Mohamed Tawfik.[3] In 1925, the first large production company, the Misr Corporation for dramatic arts and film, was created.[3]

A Lumière cinematograph venue first welcomed audiences in Alexandria during 1897.[3] Mahmoud Khalil Rachid authored "The Dawn of Cinema", the initial book devoted to film, which appeared in 1924.[3] Eighty-six cinemas were functioning across Egypt by 1926.[3] Egypt's initial talkies debuted in 1932; one example is Mohammed Karim's "Sons of Aristocrats".[4]

Studio Misr became Egypt's foremost production company, comparable to Hollywood's major studios, starting in 1935.[5] "Baba Aris", produced by Studio Misr in 1950, was the first Egyptian motion picture shot completely in natural color.[6]

What the cited sources add

The same guide states that critic Samir Farid wrote, "If an Egyptian film intended for popular audiences lacked any of these prerequisites, it constituted a betrayal of the unwritten contract with the spectator".[3] The Misr Studio was the largest cinematographic studio in Egypt, the Arab world, Africa and the Middle East.[3] Youssef Mansour is an Egyptian actor and Kung-fu champion who was born in 1966.[7] According to the Cornell University Library guide, the decades of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s are widely viewed as Egyptian cinema's golden age.[3]

The same guide states that from the 1990s onward, Egyptian cinema has branched into divergent paths.[3] Many popular films, especially broad comedies, struggle to retain viewers who are either attracted to Western movies or are increasingly concerned about film's perceived moral failings.[3]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Cinema of Egypt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: IMDB, "Why returning to classics may mean success for Egyptian cinema – Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East", www.al-monitor.com, 2020-04-07; Caravan, "Is Egypt Still the 'Hollywood of the Middle East'?", The Caravan, 2016-03-25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Cinema of Egypt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "تعرف على تفاصيل أول مهرجان للسينما فى مصر .. أقيم عام 1936", youm7.com; "The 69th edition of Egyptian Catholic Center for Cinema Festival will kick off on June 11", EgyptToday, 13 March 2021; Essam, "Egypt's 'Curfew' movie garners four awards from Egyptian Catholic Center for Cinema Festival", EgyptToday, 12 June 2021; "The Catholic Film Festival: Ode to love and joy", Watani, 13 February 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Houissa, "LibGuides: Middle Eastern & North African Cinema & Film: Egyptian Cinema & Film", guides.library.cornell.edu. facts only, no text reused. guides.library.cornell.edu
  4. Wikipedia, "Cinema of Egypt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Awlad el zawat (1932) ⭐ 6.7 Drama, Thriller" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Cinema of Egypt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Darwish, Mustafa, Dream Makers on the Nile: A Portrait of Egyptian Cinema, The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo, 1998, Pp. 12–13.; Kassir, "Being Arab", Verso, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Cinema of Egypt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tag, "Egypt's Public Prosecution Launches Investigation into Al-Ahram Studio Fire", Egyptian Streets, 19 March 2024; "Egypt's Hollywood on the Nile film studio razed to ground in mystery fire", The Telegraph, 17 March 2024; Van de Peer, "Animation in the Middle East: Practice and Aesthetics from Baghdad to Casablanca", Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017, p. 299; Determann, "Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life: The Culture of Astrobiology in the Muslim World", Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020, p. 81,87; Geisinger, "Egypt's Al-Ahram stud en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Youssef Mansour - Actor Filmography، photos، Video". facts only, no text reused. elcinema.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Cinema of Egypt (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Film History & Movements

Cinema of AfricaCinema of AustraliaCinema of CanadaCinema of GermanyCinema of GreeceCinema of Hong KongCinema of IndonesiaCinema of IranCinema of ItalyCinema of KoreaCinema of MexicoCinema of Nigeria

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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