Two of Kamal El Sheikh’s films made it into the Cannes Film festival—his 1955 film “Hayah Aw Moot” (Life or Death) and his 1964 film “El Leila El Akheera” (The Last Night), according to Ahram.org. The films attracted top talents like Egyptian star Asia Dagher and Shukry Sarhan (who appeared in Sheikh’s renowned film “Chased by the Dogs” in 1962).
Ezzel Dine Zulficar is best known for his 1954 film, “Stronger Than Love”, his 1958 film “Back Again” and his 1958 film, “The Road of Hope.” He had two wives, one of whom was Egyptian. He married Arabic film star Faten Hamama she was just 16, according to Telegraph.co.uk. Zulficar cast his young bride as the star of his 1947 film, Abu Zayd al-Hilali, and eventually they started a production company together. After their divorce, they remained friends and continued to work together.
Togo is best known for his directorial and writer’s role in “Doctor Epaminondas” (1938), “Nureddine and the Three Sailors” (1944) and “The Girl Refugee” (1938). When he was just starting out, Mizrahi wrote, acted, directed and created the set for his first film, “The Abyss,” in 1930. Some notable points of his career include when he made five films with Egyptian singer and actress Laila Mourad (pictured above). He had a stint making four Greek-language films, inspired by his meeting with a theatrical group called the Kaltos Sisters Troupe. His film “Sallama,” featured Egyptian singing icon, Oum Kalthoum, according to Bibalex.org.
Youssef Chahine grew up in Egypt but spent two years working at the Pasadena Play House in the U.S. before returning to Alexandria to start his career. His 1951 film, “Son of the Nile,” earned him a seat at the Cannes Film Festival in 1951. In 1970 he won a Golden Tanit at the Carthage Festival. Chahine received some negative reviews by the media because his films would often “cast a critical eye on contemporary Egyptian society,” according to YoussefChahine.us. The director was chosen to create the first Soviet-Egyptian co-production following the Six Day War in 1967. From there, his films became more political and provocative.
Fatin Abdel Wahab is best known for a series of comedic films he made with comedian Ismail Yassin, most of which took place in military barracks or air force bases. This was likely inspired by Wahab’s time spent in the Egyptian army and as a civil servant. Wahab was exceptionally talented at controlling actors, according to Elcinema.com. He didn’t only do comedy. He also made the respected documentary series, “The Revolution’s Projects in Five Years.”
Hassan Al Imam saw fame during the same era as Alfred Hitchcock and, appropriately, his nickname was “The King Of Melodrama.” Imam discovered the Egyptian star Hind Rostom and gave her the lead in his film, “Al-Gassad” (The Body), according to Google.com/books. He is best known for his 1967 film, “Kasr El Shawk”, his 1972 film, “Khally ballak men ZouZou,” and his 1962 film, “The Sin.”
Niazi Mostafa started his film career in Berlin, Germany, where he worked for director Rupert Volmut. He would go on to hold some editorial positions at news outlets before releasing his first feature film, “Salama Fi Kheir” (Salama in Prosperity) in 1937. Mostafa’s specialty was comedy, and several of his films featured Naguib al-Rihani, a top comedian of his time. Mostafa married one of his assistant editors, Kouka, and gave her the lead role in three of his films, according to Cineplot.com.
Henry Barakat has 86 directorial credits, but he was also a prolific writer, creating the screenplays for 21 projects. In total, he worked on 112 feature length films. His 1965 film, “El Haram,” was nominated at the Cannes Film Festival. Two 1959 films, “Doa al Karawan” and “Hassan wa Nayima” were both nominated at the Berlin International Film Festival. He is associated with a group of filmmakers who injected a wave of realism into the Egyptian film industry, according to Independent.co.uk.
