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Arabic Cinema Overview

This document provides definitions of key terms related to cinema such as film, director, actor, cinematography and montage. It then outlines the four main stages of film production: idea stage, preparation stage, implementation stage, and final stage. Finally, it gives a brief overview of the history of cinema which began in 1895 with the inventions that enabled moving images and the first public showing by the Lumiere brothers in France.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
1K views41 pages

Arabic Cinema Overview

This document provides definitions of key terms related to cinema such as film, director, actor, cinematography and montage. It then outlines the four main stages of film production: idea stage, preparation stage, implementation stage, and final stage. Finally, it gives a brief overview of the history of cinema which began in 1895 with the inventions that enabled moving images and the first public showing by the Lumiere brothers in France.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 41

‫برنامج اللغات التطبيقية‬

"Arabic cinema"

By
Siddeeka lasheen
Assistant professor at theater department
Alexandria university

0
Content:

1- Definitions
2- Four stages of film production
3- History of cinema in the world
4- Cinema in Arab world
A. Cinema and its development in Egypt
B. Algerian cinema
C. Tunisian cinema
D. Moroccan cinema
E. Syrian cinema
F. Cinema in Lebanon
G. Palestinian cinema
H. Iraqi cinema
I. Jordanian cinema
J. Cinema in Gulf cooperation

1
(1)
Definitions
1- Cinema:
term referring to moving photography that is presented to
the audience either in buildings with large screens called movie
theaters, or on smaller screens, especially such as television
screens ..Some call it the seventh art.Cinema is also called the
seventh art .The art of using sound and image together in order to
reconstruct events on a tape.
2- Film:
is defined as a series of continuous, static images on a
specific topic, problem, or phenomenon, printed on a tape
wrapped on a reel, the duration of which is usually from 10
minutes to two hours, depending on its subject matter and the
circumstances surrounding it.
3- The Film Crew:
The main crew of the film is the same in its components, but the
number of workers in it varies, according to the film's budget and
production volume. The filmography includes:
a. Directing staff:
B. Camera crew:
C. Voice Staff:
D. Lighting crew:
E. Supplements section - Accessories:
F. Department of clothing
G. Make-up section
H. Drivers, photographers, animal trainers, etc

2
4- Film director:
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects
and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the
technical crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The
director has a key role in choosing the cast members, production
design and all the creative aspects of filmmaking.
5-An actor \ Actress
is a person who portrays a character in a performance.
6-Cinematography:
The cinematography process is how the visual elements
within the staff are assembled, lit and recorded on tape, and the
cinematographer is the person in charge of this process, usually
called the "director of photography.."He plays a very vital role in
the shooting location through his responsibility for lighting and
image composition during the filming process. It also has great
control over the design of the site, and thus the design of the final
visual image of the movie. That is, it provides a visual
interpretation from the animation of the page written in the script
according to the director's vision.
His responsibilities also include selection of negatives,
lighting equipment, and camera lenses. The director of
photography is required for décor, accessories, clothing, hair, and
make-up, and he works in cooperation with the camera operator,
gaffer chief lighting worker and key grip. Therefore, the director
of photography comes next in importance directly after the
director.
7-Montage
It is taken from the French language Montage, and we can
call it in the Arabic language “synthesis” or “composition”., and
it is in English ward means editing. it is the art of selecting and
arranging scenes and their length of time on the screen, so that
they turn into a meaningful message. The montage or the person
who does the montage in his work is based on his experience,

3
artistic sense, general culture and his ability to reproduce scenes
that seem.
Another definition of it is that it is a codification of film
editing that combines a series of short clips or clips into a single
series, often in line with music.
8- types of movies:
• Action movies: movies that show human troubles in life in a
fast, regular fashion.
•Films Adventure: run movies , trips to different places .
•Cartoons animated movies: movies based on the animation .
•Comedy films: films featuring comic situations.
•Crime Movies : built on a plot of humanitarian work is illegal .
•Documentary Films :Films submit a report on the subject, it
is not a story or drama novelist.
•Dramatic films: films that deal with strong human emotions.
•Family films: movies with a theme suitable for different ages .
•Fantasy movies: movies that deal with mythical adventures, or
discuss themes of antiquity.
•Horror: films by scary scenes.
•Musical Films : Films based on music and dance as an
essential element .
•Science fiction films: movies based on fictional adventures
that happen in outer space, for example, or outside the planet,
and the human mind cannot imagine them.
•Suspense: movies that hide some of the facts and events from
the public, and gradually revealed in the most skill.
4
•War films: films based on wars that occurred in recorded
human history.
•Westerns: Films based on the exploitation of the American
West environment during the nineteenth and twentieth century .

5
(2)
Four stages of film production
When you watch a movie, you react to its events with your
feelings and focus and spend an hour of time separated from
reality between your feelings and your fluctuating states
according to the scene presented and according to the feelings of
the film characters that you receive from the pattern of events
through the display screen, but all these emotions distract you
from your ability to focus On making these scenes, every scene
in the film with its location and angles to portray the characters,
the lighting and the events themselves is the composition of the
scene that the spectator receives in one go to reach him to this
emotional state, whether with joy, sadness or excitement.
The motion picture industry has several stages, which we
look forward to in the coming lines.
The stages of making a movie
1- The idea stage:
It is the stage in which the film is a fictional story that includes
the characters with their characters and emotions to interact with
each other in the events of the novel until the author's message
finally reaches the mind of the reader.

2- The preparation stage:


It is the stage of preparation for converting this novel into
cinematic style, live characters and real locations, and this stage
is divided into technical and financial preparation.
•Technical preparation: transforming the fictional story into a
script that is divided into scenes on paper with a description of
6
the filming locations (internal / external) and its time (day / night)
and the dialogue (colloquial or classical) that takes place between
the characters and this is the role of the script (the scriptwriter).
Then comes the role of the director, who prepares the leader to
carry out the work:
-Selecting the appropriate locations for filming the scenes.
-Choosing appropriate representatives for the characters.
-Choosing the actors ’clothes according to the scene, according
to the events, the site’s shape, and its colors.
-Determine shooting angles, camera movement, and lighting for
each scene.
Financial preparation: Responsibility for production is to
allocate a budget that includes the wages of the work team (actors
- director - filming - etc.), the cost of decoration, the cameras used
and the lighting to an end, and the budget determined by the
production company depends on the quality of the film in terms
of filming, decoration and available capabilities .
3- The implementation stage:
it is the stage in which the plan (stage of preparing) the film
is executed on the ground, such as building the décor of the
sites and starting the filming of the scenes. Example:
“ If the events of the film take place in the State of Kuwait and
there are two scenes at the beginning of the film and two at the
end, their events take place in another country ... The team travels
to that country and the four scenes are filmed despite the different
order of events, then they return to Kuwait to complete the rest of
the scenes.“
4- The final stage:

7
In this stage (montage) is the main one in it, where the scenes
that were filmed are collected and arranged in a correct manner
in line with the events and rhythm of the film, and in this stage
the director deletes the scenes that he deems ineffective or affect
the ability of integration The audience is with the events of the
film or according to its artistic vision, and after the sounds and
the sound and visual effects are added, the beginning and the end,
the film is printed on special materials (tapes) that are shown in
theaters (cinemas), or displayed on satellite channels according to
the agreements of the producer. And after this summary journey
of what is going on behind the scenes in the film industry, it
becomes clear to us that (montage) is the final stage through
which several separate scenes are prepared, organized, and
transformed into a complete film whose events flow in a logical
manner.

(3)
History of cinema in the world

8
The real beginning of the birth of the film industry, it dates
back to about 1895 AD, as a result of the combination of three
previous inventions, namely the visual game, the magic lantern,
and photography. The brothers Auguste and Louis Lumiere
recorded their invention of the first device that enables the display
of moving images on the screen in February 13, 1895 in France,
but it was not prepared for them to hold their first public show
until December 28 of the same year, when the audience saw the
first cinematographic show in the basement of the Grand Café,
located in the Capucines Street in Paris. Therefore, many
historians consider Louis Lumiere the true inventor of cinema, as
he was able to create the first device to capture and display
cinematic images, and from this date cinema has become a
tangible reality. And immediately the "Egypt" relationship
began.In the cinema days after this date, the first cinematic show
was presented in Egypt in the (Zawani) cafe in Alexandria in
January 1896 AD, followed by the first cinematic show in Cairo
on January 28, 1896 AD in the (Santi) café, then the third cinema
screening was in Port Said in 1898 M.

In April 1895, New York witnessed a public exposition of


the moving picture. Then Arman and Jenkins were able to invent
a better display device, which they used in making their first
presentation in September of the same year - which led Thomas
Edison to invite them to join the company that he had founded to
exploit the Kinetoscope. In the following year, Edison was able
to manufacture a display device that combines the advantages of
the two devices, and he held his first public display in April 1896,
and it was a great success.

The American film critic and historian Philip Congleton


divides the stages that the development of film has gone through
from the perspective of being affected by the growth of the market
into the following eras:
1- The Pioneering Era: 1895-1910:

9
At this age, the film industry began, the first camera, the
first actor, the first directors, the technology was completely new,
and there were no voices at all, and most of the films were
documentaries, news, and recordings of some plays, and the first
narrative drama was about five minutes long, and it began to
become familiar Around 1905, with the beginning of the French
artist Georges Melies' novel, A Trip to the Moon in 1902, the big
names at that time were Edison, Lumiere, and Millier with his
films full of illusions and Muhammad Bayoumi from Egypt with
his attempts to portray Egyptian life.

When watching these films, it is taken into account that


they were the first attempts, and that cinema was still a new tool
of communication, so it should not be seen as trivial, perhaps it
was really primitive, but it must be realized that the energy and
work that went into producing these films was impressive, And
that the producers took upon themselves the task of producing
these films was a remarkable thing.

2- The silent movie era: 1911-1926:

This era is distinguished from its predecessor by the


abundance of experimentation in the process of film editing. This
stage was not completely silent, as there were uses for special
methods and sound effects, while there was no dialogue at all
until the next stage, so the format differed, and theatrical
recordings disappeared to be replaced by narrative drama This is
also the beginning of the poetic film stage with a historical
character. Famous names at this stage included Charles Chaplin,
David Griffith and others. Films at this stage cost more money,
and the issue of quality and quality of the film began to raise
controversy, and different types of films were made at this stage.

3- Era between World War I and World War II: 1927-


1940:

10
This era is characterized as the era of speech or sound, but
Philip Congleton believes, that this classification is inaccurate, so
that means that there are two stages in the history of the film:
silence and speech.

This era begins with the production of the first talking film
entitled "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, in addition to various other
talking films produced at this stage. The films of the 1930s also
witnessed a greater use of color, and animation began, and at this
stage also the daytime screenings of films appeared, and began to
grow in Theaters With the wave of comedy, and the emergence
of movie stars, their names spread at that time.

The names of this stage included such names as Clark


Gable, Frank Capra, John Ford, and the two actors who continued
to the speaking stage after that, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

4- Golden Age of Film: 1941-1954:

The Second World War brought about all kinds of changes


in the film industry, during and after the war comedy flourished
remarkably, and musical films came to the throne of cinema, as
well as horror films, but with little use of special effects due to
high production costs, production expenses made a noticeable
difference between large budgets. And small film studios, and
movie studios have resorted to using small budgets to produce
inexpensive films for the general public, to attract audiences.
Therefore, mass films appeared at this stage, which can be
classified into intelligence films, forest films, and exploitative
films.

Science fiction films appeared around 1950. The few big


names that appeared at this point were Cary Grant, Humphrey
Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Fred Astaire.

5- The Transitional Age of Film: 1955-1966:

11
Philip Congleton calls this stage the transitional era,
because it represents the time when the film really began to
mature. In this era, the advanced artistic equipment of the film
appeared in terms of music, decor, and so on. In this era, films
from different countries began to enter the United States of
America through the Hollywood walls, and mass films began to
be replaced by cheap films, and large studios began to lose much
of their power in the field of distribution.

Also, a new and fierce competitor appeared for the film


industry, which was television, which highlighted competition
over the quality of the product. Cinema began to invade more
mature social topics, and color films spread to the majority next
to black and white, and the big names in this stage cinema
included Alfred Hitchcock, Marilyn Monro, and Elizabeth
Taylor.

And the Cold War began to change the face of Hollywood,


and special effects appeared, and other accompanying arts
appeared, such as decoration and parades.

6- The Silver Age of Film: 1967-1979

Some historians believe that this period is indeed the stage


of modern film, and it was a new stage at that time, and the silver
age of cinema begins with the production of the films Al-
Graduated and Bonnie and Clyde in 1967.

Several free-of-motion movies have appeared. As a result


of the spread of this type of mature films, outside public morals,
new systems of censorship emerged and the famous names that
ruled this era were formed, such as Francis Coppola, Dustin
Hoffman, and Marlon Brando. The percentage of black and white
films decreased to 3% of the films produced during this period.
Hollywood really knows how to make films, and there is a big
difference between large and small budgets for films, and other

12
non-material aspects of the film can also be compared, so the
budget films should not be seen as poor.

7- The Modern Age of Film: 1980--1995

This era began in 1977, when he produced the movie "Star


Wars", which was the first contribution of computers and modern
technology to the design of special effects.

But Philip Congleton begins this era in 1980, because he


considers "Empire Resists" as the starting point. It was at this
stage that the computer, home video, and cable television began
to spread. This stage relied heavily on huge budgets instead of
script and acting, but it retained the ability to produce good
quality entertaining movies.

8- Modern technology and cinematography

The film has progressed step by step, from drawings, to


photographs, to images presented on a screen, to sound, to color,
to the wide screen, to the three-dimensional screen, and scientific
experiments are still underway to add the sense of smell to the
film experience by launching perfumes during it.

The last two decades have witnessed an escalation in the


relationship between the film industry and the latest information
and communication medium, which is the Internet.

The relationship between cinema and the Internet started


traditionally, as cinema exploited the fledgling network as a
means of scientific and technical publishing in 1982, and the
relationship escalated until the Internet became a means of
publishing or displaying cinematic films, in addition to marketing
or advertising them.

In 1982 the American critic Elliott Stas published the first online
critical essay on the "Gandhi" movie, "Gandhi," on Compuserve.

13
In 1990 Cole Needham launched the Internet Movie
Database, which became an important resource about cinema.
The first version was not a real website but merely a program that
allows Internet users to search for articles published on the forum
rec.arte.com.

The year 1992 witnessed the launch of the first campaign


to use the Internet to advertise a movie, "Les experts", as well as
the launch of the first website for films, through the films Talrek
and Stargate.

In 1995, the American movie The Net, the first Hollywood


movie to make the Internet a main theme, began commercial
showing. And in 1996, Cine-Fbl was launched, the first site to
show the opening times of cinemas in France, Switzerland, and
Belgium. In the same year, Aint Cool News, a website dedicated
to news, rumors, and reviews for movies, was launched before it
went out into the halls.

In 1997, on the occasion of the start of the marketing of


the Real-Video Information Program, in February, a site was
announced accompanied by three short tapes signed by Lee. 1998
saw the airing of Star Wars advertising links.

In 1997, Titanic (see an image from the movie Titanic)


was shown in cinemas after its production cost the largest budget
in the history of cinema in the world, ranging from 250 to 300
million dollars in production and distribution.

In 1998, he produced "You've Got Mail," starring Meg


Ryan and Tom Hanks in December, where the two protagonists
fall in love thanks to AOL's email.

(4)
Cinema in Arab worled

14
A. Cinema and its development in Egypt

the first (cinematography) of "Lumiere" was opened in


Alexandria in mid-January 1897 AD. And he obtained the
concession of "Henri Dello Strologo", where he prepared a large
aria for the installation of his machines, and settled on the
location. Between the Toson Stock Exchange and the Teatro Al
Hambra, the first photographer for the House of Lumiere
"Promo" arrived in Alexandria, who managed From filming
"Consuls Square" in Alexandria and Muhammad Ali Square, and
a short silent documentary film about the visit of Khedive Abbas
Helmy II to the Morsi Abu Al Abbas Institute in Alexandria.

This is the first cinematography of some Egyptian scenes


that were shown at the Lumiere Cinemas, and it was considered
June 20, 1907 AD. It is the beginning of the Egyptian film
production.

Thus appeared Egyptian news documentary short films,


and the first fictional film did not appear until 1917. It was
produced by (the Italian - Egyptian Film Company), and the
company produced two films: (ALSHARAF ALBADAWY) and
(ALAZHAR ALKATELA) .., The company is credited with
giving the Egyptian director "Mohamed Karim" the opportunity
to appear in the two films .... And "Mohamed Karim" is the first
Egyptian film actor.

In 1922, a two-chapter film produced and represented by


"Fawzi Muneeb" appeared under the name "ALKHALA
ALAMRICANIA"

Cinema of Egypt between the two wars:


In 1927 AD. The first two famous Egyptian films were
produced and shown, namely “KOBLA FE ALSAHRAA” and
the second film, “Layla”, starring Aziza Amir, the first Egyptian
woman to have worked in cinema.

15
And in 1932 AD, “AWLAD ALZAWAT” was shown, which was
the first Egyptian speaking film starring Youssef Wahbi and
Amina Rizk This year also witnessed the emergence of the first
Egyptian singer, which is rare, in the movie (ONSHODAT
ALFouad), which was considered the first Egyptian musical film,
speaking, while it was The first singer to appear on the screen is
Mohamed Abdel Wahab in the movie (ALWARDA ALBEDA)

As for the first Egyptian film shown outside Egypt, it was


(Widad) starring Umm Kulthum, and it was also the first film
produced (Studio Masr), the company that will subsequently
make an impact in the Egyptian film industry.

The establishment of (Studio Misr) was in 1935 AD. A


new shift in the history of Egyptian cinema, in addition to studios
such as Studio Al-Nahas, and (Studio Misr) remained the focus
of the cinematic movement until the outbreak of World War II,

And it was the movie (ALAZEEMA) in 1939 AD. An


important station in that period, as well as (Egypt Film Festival)
or (The Talking Newspaper) appeared.

In the 1940's in Egypt, Ismail Yassin, Mohamed Fawzi,


Omar Sharif, Yahya Shaheen, Istvan Rosti, Farid Shawky, Anwar
Wagdy appeared in the starring roles in Egypt, and the singer and
actress "Leila Murad was the first window star in this era with her
singing films that bore her name."

Attempts to color parts of the films appeared, including


coloring the "YOUM ALETHNIN " song from the movie "LAST
MALAKAN" by the artist Mohamed Abdel Wahab in 1946.

Globally, and at this stage as well, the quality of the film


began to increase its importance with the emergence of the
Oscars, and the audience's love of cinema. From here, the film
became viewed at this stage as a teenager and began to mature,
and it is possible to distinguish between films that cost a lot of

16
money from films that did not cost much, and although the
technology used in making the film was still primitive, it dazzled
many moviegoers.

Egyptian cinema after the second war:

After World War II, the number of Egyptian films doubled


from 16 in 1944 to 67 in 1946, and during this period a number
of directors such as Ahmed Badrakhan, Henri Barakat, Hassan
Al-Imam, Ibrahim Emara, Ahmed Kamel Morsi, Helmy Rafla,
Kamal Al-Sheikh, Hassan Al-Saifi, shone. Salah Abu Seif, Kamel
Tlemceni, Ezz El Din Zulfikar, as well as Anwar Wagdy who
presented a series of successful showcasing films, as well as
artists and artists such as Laila Murad, Shadia, Faten Hamama,
Majida Al Sabahi, Maryam Fakhreddin, Tahia Carioca, Najeeb
Al Rihani.

The fifties in Egyptian cinema:

"Ismail Yassin",the actor dominated the films of the


fifties, especially after the revolution of July 1952, as a large
series of films bearing his name were produced, and many of
them were supporting the Egyptian army with a spirit of
purposeful humor such as "Ismail Yassin FE ALGISH, and Ismail
Yassin FE ALTAYARAN" and Ismail Yassin FE ALOSTOL and
others. Other films carried his name that were not related to the
army, such as “Ismail Yassin FE Lebanon” and “Ismail Yassin
FE ALSEGN.”

In 1950, Studio Misr produced (Baba Aris), the first full-color


Egyptian film, starring Naima Akef, Fouad Shafiq, Kamlia and
Shukry Sarhan.

In 1951, the artist Mohamed Fawzy experimented with


coloring two of his films, (ALHOB FE KHATAR) and (The End
of a Story). Unfortunately, the two films were burned on the way
from France to Egypt, and the black and white versions remained

17
on the Egyptian TV and it is said that the artist Mohamed Fawzy
was not satisfied with the quality of the colors. In the first movie,
he had re-shot it, causing him heavy financial losses.

In 1956 AD, "Dalila" was produced in color, Nizam


Scoop, starring the artist Abdel Halim Hafez, Shadia, and Hussein
Riad. After that, many colored Egyptian Arab films were
produced in a limited way in the 1950s and 1960s.

Sixties and seventies of Egyptian cinema

In the 1960s, the cinema industry was nationalized, in


which the General Film Organization was established to produce
feature films, which follow the public sector in Egypt, which led
to a decrease in the average number of films from 60 to 40 films
per year, and the number of cinemas decreased from 354 in 1954
to 255 houses in 1966,

Egyptian films shown in the sixties can be divided into three


sections:

1. Films dealing with poverty and the appreciation of work,


and praising the socialist society, such as "AL-LES WA
AL-KELAB".
2. Films condemning opportunistic models, social ills such as
bribery, corruption, and theft crimes such as "Miramar".
3. Films that dealt with issues of the people's political
participation, condemned negativity, and dealt with issues
of democracy, the connection to the land, and resistance,
such as "GAFAT ALAMTAR", "AL-ARD" and "OGHNIA
ALA ALMAMAR"

In mid-1971 the Film Foundation was liquidated and a


public body was established, which included theater and music
with cinema. The authority stopped cinematic production,
18
contenting itself with financing the private sector, and the state’s
role in cinema began to decline until it completely finished fiction
production, and the state had only two companies, one for studios
and the other for distribution and cinemas, but the average
number of films produced remained 40 until 1974, then it
increased to 50. The number of movie theaters kept declining
until it reached 190 in 1977.

The seventies witnessed one of the greatest events in the


history of Egypt, which is the victory of October 1973. Old is a
moment. "

And after the October War, the first film dealing with the
openness policy appeared only one year after its announcement,
which is the film "ALA MAN NOTLEK ALRASAS" by the star
of this first stage, artist Mahmoud Yassin, who also starred in
most of the most important films of that era, especially October
films

Eighties and Nineties:

In Egypt, at the beginning of the eighties, a new group of


young directors appeared who were able to overcome the
prevailing production traditions, and to make serious cinema and
called them the new realism current or the generation of the
eighties, from this generation director Atef Al-Tayeb, and the
experiences of Rafat Al-Mihy, films Khairy Beshara and
Muhammad Khan and others .

In that period, stars such as: “Adel Imam”, “Ahmed Zaki,”


“Mahmoud Abdel Aziz,” “Nour Al-Sharif,” “Nadia Al-Jundi,”
“Nabila Obaid,” “Yousra,” “Laila Alawi,” and “Ilham Shaheen.”
And “Suheir Ramzi” In the mid-eighties, specifically with the
beginning of 1984, the number of films shown suddenly increased
to 63, which constitutes the beginning of the wave of business
films; They are films that were prepared with small budgets and
a poor technical level to package video tapes and export them to

19
the Gulf countries, where the number of films in 1986 reached
about 95 films, and this number represents the peak of the
graphical increase in the cinema of enterprises.

With the end of the eighties and the beginning of the


nineties, and specifically after the Gulf War, the production of
contracting films clearly declined due to the decrease in demand
for such films from the Gulf countries, so that another group of
directors tried to influence the cinema slightly, among them
Radwan Al-Kashef, Osama Fawzi and Saeed Hamed.

The wave of comedy films appeared in the late nineties,


with the emergence of a number of comedy films starring a
number of young stars at the time, and this series began after the
Ismailia Rayeh Jay movie, which achieved great cinematic
success and revived the Egyptian film market after the production
rate reached low levels. In the mid-nineties.

This wave of comedy dominated the entire film


production in the beginning, then was accompanied by another
wave of action films and romantic films, but in general this wave
of comedy films still dominates the Egyptian cinema market, and
comedian stars are still the most expensive and most famous.

New millennium

With the beginning of the new century, a new generation


of comedians appeared, the most famous of whom were
Mohamed Saad, Mohamed Heneidy, Ahmed Helmy and Hani
Ramzy, who starred in many comedy films.Also, a number of
young actresses were able to achieve success and fame during a
short period of Egyptian cinema during that period of two
months: Mona Zaki, Hend Sabry, including Shalaby, Yasmine
Abdel Azizoumi Ezz El-Din and Dalia El-Beheiry.

In 2007, the volume of cinematic production was 40 films,


which is almost the same number that the cinema provided in

20
2006, but the number of distinguished films increased more than
before, and Egyptian cinema achieved huge revenues in 2007 of
250 million pounds.

Film production in Egypt is almost completely restricted


to the private sector and some international production
institutions, "Euromed Production", but the Ministry of Culture
announced in 2007. About the start of funding for some
"Outstanding Value" films.

In 2008, 53 films were produced, which indicates the


prosperity of the Egyptian film industry.

Beyond 2010

Egyptian cinema continued to produce comedies and


political films with the same stars, and the emergence of (popular
films) was especially famous for the actor Mohamed Ramadan,
and this type of film is characterized by discussing the state of
poverty and the lower class of society and their problems and
faces issues such as drugs and prostitution and has had some
negative effects on Egyptian youth as a result In order to contain
these films obscene words, scenes of dancers, and scenes that
violate the morals, as they were severely attacked by several
parties in society, and on Eid al-Fitr (which is the season of new
films in Egypt) for the year 2016, several films were shown in
Egyptian theaters, many of them are comedies: 30 YOUM FE
ALEZZ, GAHEM FE ALHEND.

21
B. Algerian cinema

Its beginning like Egyptian cinema , its history goes back


to the early beginnings of international cinema. Indeed, Algeria
has been a theater for cinematographs since its inception in the
late nineteenth century, when the Lumiere brothers
commissioned the photographer (Felix Mesaghash) to film scenes
from Algeria , so the list of tapes was long and was shown in
1897, including (Algeria), (DAWET Muezzin), and ( SAHAT
ALHKOMA) and (ALMENAA), as well as sights from Tlemcen.

22
As for the actual launch of fictional, lengthy cinematic
films, it dates back to the independence period with the historical
film (ELLY YAKHAF MEN ALSHAMS) by Mustafa Badie
(1965) and (REEH AWRAS) by Al-Khader Hamina (1966)
through (YAHYA YA Dido) by Muhammad Zeenat in 1971 and
(Roof and Family Rabeh Larraji (1982) and other serious films.

After independence:
The 1960s phase can be identified as the actual birth of post-
independence cinema, and it includes private and public
production, as well as the cinema of the Diaspora, and then co-
production that emerged with international works, including
(MARAKET ALGAZAER) by Italian director Gilo Pentecervo
in 1966 and (ALGHAREEB) by Lukino Vishkinti in 1968 and
also (Zad) Costa Javras in 1968, and in this genre we find a funny
movie about the adventures of Western Spaghetti (THALATH
MOSADASAT DED Cesar) by the Italian director Enzo Berry,
with director Moussa Haddad in 1967.
Algerian films, despite their few, were able to find a place
for them in international cinematic forums, the most famous of
which is (WAKAEA SENEN ALGAMR) for Khidr Hamina, who
won the Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes in France (1975),
There was some famous commercial films, such as,
(MARAKET ALGAZAER) (1965) and (AFION WA ALASA)
by Ahmed Rachdi (1970), both of which show eventsThe
Algerian revolution .comedy film captured the attention of the
audience, beginning with the movie (Hassan Al-Tero) by Al-
Khader Hamina (1968) and (OTLET ALMOFATESH Al-Taher)
by Moussa Haddad (1972) and (Omar Qatlatu) ) By Merzak
Allwash (1976), as well as (HOROUB Hassan al-Tayer) by
Mustafa Badi (1976) and (HOSN NEYA) by Ghuthi bin Daddush
and also (AL Taxi ALKHAFY) by Ibn Omar Bakhti (1989.)
Algerian cinema and festivals:
23
In the nineteenth session of the African Film Festival in
Bouagadougou (March 2005), the actor is crowned Syed Ali
Kuirat was awarded the best actor for his role in Kamal Dahan's
film (ALMASHKOK FEHOM), which is a story adapted from a
novel by writer Taher Jawout,While Belkacem Hajjaj's film "Al
Manara" is distinguished by its technical side, it wins the award
for best voice.
There were many important films such as ( Al-Qalaa) by
Muhammad Shuwaikh (1992), (Jabal Bayyah) by Izz al-Din
Mudawar (1997), (REEH ALNESYAN) by Belkacem Hajjaj
(2003) and (RashidA) by Yamina Shuwaikh (2003).

C. Tunisian cinema
The beginnings of cinema in Tunisia go back to 1896, when
the Lumiar brothers filmed live scenes of the streets of Tunis .
The following year, the country held its first film show. In 1908 ,
"Umniah Patti" was opened as the first cinema hall in the country.
In 1922 , Zahra, the first short film in the country, was filmed ,
followed in 1937 by the first feature-length film, "Majnoon
Kairouan". In 1966, after independence, he produced the first
Tunisian film, ALFAGR . Tunisian cinema currently produces an
average of 3 feature films and 6 short films per year. Carthage
Film Days are the most important cinema event in the country.
carthage Film Festival:

24
a film festival organized in Tunisia every two years during
the month of October. It was established in 1966 with the
initiative of Al-Taher Sharia . It is supervised by a committee
headed by the Minister of Culture and consisting of specialists in
the film sector. Carthage Film Days is the oldest film festival in
the countries of the South that still holds its sessions regularly. It
is one of three artistic demonstrations that complement each
other, as we also find the Carthage Theater and the Carthage
Musical Days .
D. Moroccan cinema:
It’s the newest cinema, in north africa, where it did not
really start until the sixties. But in the last twenty years,
specifically when the state began supporting Moroccan cinema
production, production has grown rapidly, and we have now
reached the production of eight films a year, sometimes reaching
ten, and this is a very important thing. Moroccan cinema can be
considered the cinema of the public sector, although it is the
director who intervenes in his film. It is he who depicts him freely
and independently.

25
E. syrian cinema
it was one of the first movements in the Arab region, where
the first attempts at film production in Syria began at the
beginning of the twentieth century, and Syria knew cinema in
1908 with cinematic screenings in the city of Aleppo and in 1912
in the city of Damascus, and this high art coming from European
countries was A number of Syrian youths enthusiastic about
cinema gathered in the mid-twenties of the twentieth century and
worked to create a film industry in Syria, and in 1927 , the filming
of the first Syrian movie was started.

Rashid Jalal agreed with a group of young men,


including Ayoub Badri and Ahmed Tello, to shoot a movie that
he developed the scenario for himself. The story was based on a

26
true story of a group of thieves that wreaked havoc in Damascus
and its environs during the rule of King Faisal the first1920 The
first Syrian movie was called The (almotaham albaree). It was
filmed within 8 months, and the people in charge of its production
made a lot of effort. The length of the film was 800 meters,
produced by the Hermon Film Production Company, which was
founded by Rashid Jalal and his partners in Damascus . And
because of the appearance of a Muslim actress, which angered the
clerics, which forced Rashid Jalal to re-photograph the scenes in
which the girl appeared, with the help of a second German girl
who was residing in Damascus. The filming and the technical
operations of the film were completed in 1928 and it was shown
in the Cosmograph Cinema in Marjeh Square in Damascus, and
it met with remarkable success at that time, and the film is a
strong start for Syrian cinema.
In the same period, there was a young man enthusiastic
about cinematic work, the artist (Bahjat Al-Masry), who started
in 1925 as a cinematographer and worked on producing many
short films and in 1926 he cooperated with a group of young
amateurs to produce a movie, but he separated from them and
worked alone and produced many One of the short films , and he
used to photograph and print himself. Bahjat Al-Masry produced
the first film and was printed on thin cigarette paper. He produced
many short documentaries and was considered one of the
pioneers of cinema in Syria.
Syrian films in the twenties:
A film about the President of the Syrian state (Ahmed Nami) -
and the film won an award at the Industrial Exhibition in
Damascus.
Film The Journey of the President of the Syrian State, Sheikh Taj
Al-Husseini, in 1929
27
A movie about the National Bloc at that time, including Fakhry
Al-Baroudi.
A military parade that took place in Damascus.
The film of the (almotaham albaree) starring: Ayoub Al-Badri -
Ahmed Tello - Muhammad Al-Mouradi - Rasheed Jalal
The period of the thirties
In the early thirties, Syrian cinema continued its march, , in
1931 Rashid Jalal continued his cinematic activity so he establish
a company known as Helios Film for Film Production. On the
other hand, he agreed with his friend Ismail Anzour, who had a
cinematic experience in Austria, and with director Artgrel
Mohsen to shoot the film, and Ismail Anzour developed the script
and directed it and was the second Syrian film of the long feature
films entitled (THAT SAMAA DEMASHQ) It was
photographed, printed and developed in the company's
laboratory, and its first screening was shown at the C-Janak Qala
cinema in Al - Salhiya in Damascus , which was the first luxury
cinema that was established in 1916 and was built and designed
by sculptors and artists, and it was one of the finest cinemas at
that time.
From thirties movies
Film (ENTEKHAB MALEKAT GAMAL DEMASHQ) in 1932.
"ARD ASKARY DAKHM" movie that took place in Damascus.
A movie about the hero Youssef Al-Azma.
(ALSADAKA) movie.
Movie (NEDAA ALWAGEB) by Ayoub Al-Badri in 1937.
Movie ( GHARAM FE ALGHOROB) in 1937.

28
A film about the Syrian parliament in 1932.
The forties and fifties
The most prominent pioneers in this period , and in the
march of Syrian cinema is an engineer master honest Shahbandar
where he founded the studio in the neighborhood of Bab Toma In
Damascus, Nazih al-Shahbandar has produced a number of
documentaries and short films. In 1946, a joint Syrian Arab film
production company was established and provided expertise from
Syria and Egypt and produced its first film, Layla Al-Amiriya,
and the film was well received. The film was shown in Damascus,
Beirut and Cairo in its first screening.
In 1951 , government of SYRIA supported cinema as an
effective media, and a specialized cinema department was
established that deals with cinema matters in Syria and equipped
a cinematographic laboratory for printing, showing, artistic
operations, and a cinematography department, and a weekly
cinematic newspaper was launched in Damascus concerned with
news of cinema and filmmakers in Syria and the world. At the
end of the fifties, cinema departments were established in a
number of Syrian ministries, and a number of film production
companies in Syria and two cinemas, including Zuhair al-Shawa,
who produced a number of films, became clear and the activity of
these companies increased and their production increased in the
next phase of the Syrian cinema march.
Among the films of the forties and fifties : (aber sable) , (nour
wa zalam), Leila Al-Amiriya , and a group of short films, and
documentary films.
Sixties and seventies
At this stage of the Syrian cinema journey , the largest
number of films have been produced, and what distinguishes it is
29
the emergence of the General Film Organization, which produced
a large number of strong and serious Syrian films and achieved a
large presence in international festivals as well as the film
production sector and the Syrian private and joint film production
companies, which produced more 300 when the films feature -
length and short documentaries and films , including premium
movie and serious film business most of the sector , the
production of special, this marked stage the emergence of star
nets there and became the names of shiny attractive on posters
and advertising films Syrian such as the famous duo movies
Laham and Nihad Kalai and film artist temptation series films
Comedian for a number of comedy stars In Syria, which had its
audience, and Syrian films were not interrupted from showing in
cinemas in Damascus, Aleppo and various Syrian cities. What is
worth noting is that the number of cinemas in Syria in 1963
reached more than 120 cinemas.
Eighties period:
At the beginning of the eighties of the twentieth century, Syrian
cinema had a remarkable presence, and many serious and realistic
films were presented in an elegant way produced by the General
Film Organization and good films produced by private sector
companies. Syrian films won many first prizes in Arab and
international festivals, such as Ahlam almadena, The Frontier
Film and many others. One of the good films that distinguished
Syrian cinema, in addition to the fact that many Syrian directors
and artists won awards in various film festivals.
Nineties:
The number of films produced has decreased, despite this
there were a good number of films, and a number of distinguished
Syrian directors and artists appeared in the Syrian art scene, and
Syrian films achieved an effective presence in international
30
forums and festivals with more serious films. Realistic and
credible production of the National Film Corporation In addition
to a smaller number of private sector films that are less productive
than previous periods for several factors, the most important of
which is the trend of production companies and producers for
television production after the Syrian series invaded the Arab
satellite stations, which gave a new dimension to the Syrian and
Arab television production and drama with the extent of its
development, so many film production companies have turned to
Syria Towards drama production, the Cinema Foundation
continued to produce cinematic films, which were at a very good
level and achieved many awards in various festivals.
Cinema after the year 2000
In the new millennium, and after the year 2000, the Syrian
cinema continued its march and a number of good and excellent
films were produced in terms of content, but in terms of quantity
it is not what those interested in cinema, the great Syrian artists
and directors aspire, and it is not what it was in the sixties or
seventies of the twentieth century, and those interested in the
Syrian cinema look Those who are familiar with the historical
depth and the first pioneers who created a film industry in Syria
and with the generation of veteran artists and the generation of
young people expect that the wheel of Syrian cinema production
will increase , especially with the presence of great artistic
experiences of directors, photographers, technicians, academics
and a large number of great Syrian artists and artists, many of
them have a history with cinema in addition to famous celebrities.
From generation to generation and the historical depth of the
cinema process in Syria.
Awards films

31
Throughout the long march of Syrian cinema, the film
production companies, the production sector, and the General
Film Establishment have provided more than 350 long films and
several hundreds of short, documentary and documentary films.
In different periods of this process, Syrian films achieved a
number of prizes for distinguished films in addition to awards for
artists, artists and directors in Arab festivals. And international
events such as, Valencia International Festival, Moscow
International Festival * Locarno International Festival, Cannes
International Festival, Carthage Festival, Cairo Festival,
Damascus Festival, and the Syrian films achieved the largest
prizes.
The most important film in Syria: ALFAHD, HADETHAT NESF
METR, AHLAM ALMADENA, ALHDOD, SAEK
ALSHAHENA, NGOM ALNAHAR, KAFR KASEM,
ALMATLOUB RAGOL WAHED, ALTAREEK ELA
ALSALAM, ALKALAA ALKHAMESA, ALSEKEEN,
BAKAYA SOAR, LIALI EBN AWE, AND ALTAKRER.

32
F. Cinema in Lebanon
The beginning:
cinematic attempts in Lebanon go back to 1929, when the
Italian Giordano Bidotti made a silent film in Lebanon entitled
"MOGHAMARAT Elias Mabrouk". After that, the cinematic
attempts made by foreigners living in Lebanon continued during
the 1930's and 1940's, but the first purely Lebanese cinematic
attempt might have been directed by Ali Al-Aris in his films
"Bayaa Al-Ward" and ";AWKAB AMERAT ALSAHARAA" in
the mid-forties.
During that period, Cairo, as the capital of Arab cinema,
attracted many Lebanese artists and filmmakers, including the
Lebanese producer Assia Dagher, the Lebanese actress Sabah, the
Lebanese actress Souad Mohamed, and others.
But the Lebanese debut at the international level was for the
film "ELA AYN " by the late Lebanese director, George Nasr,
recently. Nasr's film was shown in 1957 in the official
competition of the Cannes International Film Festival, and it won
the admiration of many due to its exposure to the issue of the

33
emigration of Lebanese youth, which was and continues to haunt
the Lebanese generation after generation.
In the same context, and as an attempt to discover a
Lebanese cinematic identity, the Rahbani brothers participated in
what we can consider as an extension of their theater and music,
through three films they produced in the sixties and which Mrs.
Fairouz starred in, and its events took place entirely in the
mountainous Lebanese village. To direct these films, we saw
Youssef Chahine in “Bayaa Al-KhaWtim”, and Henry Barakat in
“Safar Berlik,” and “Bent Alhares”.
Nationalization: An Alternative Cinema Center
Youssef Chahine and Henri Barakat went to Lebanon not
only for the sake of Rahbana, what happened in the sixties was
like a mass exodus after the decision of former Egyptian President
Gamal Abdel Nasser to nationalize film production in Egypt, and
to specify a certain number of films for each director and every
actor, with increased control over Artistic and cinematic
expression.
Thus, day after day, more Egyptian artists immigrated to
Lebanon. After that, a group of Syrian artists joined them as a
result of similar pressures from the authority in Damascus, and
with the presence of this cultural and artistic mixture, Beirut
became an alternative center for Arab cinema, and the most
famous Lebanese studio became the "Studio of Baalbek". One of
the most important cinema production centers in the Middle East.
During that period, the number of films produced in Lebanon
increased, but they were films of modest content, as production
considerations dominated them, in addition to their oscillation
between the Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian dialects. The mixture
was the one that governed then, an Egyptian star, a Lebanese star

34
and some Syrian actors, a love story and some comedy scenes, in
addition to some action scenes.
This continued until the film production in Lebanon at the
beginning of the seventies was affected by the global liberation
wave and hippie films, resulting in cinematic content mainly
concerned with love and sex.
Despite all this, this period also included the production of
some films affected by the beginning of the Palestinian resistance
activity against Israel , including the film "Kafr Qasim" by the
Lebanese director Burhan Alawiya, and a joint Lebanese-Syrian
production, which is the film that revolves around a heinous
Israeli massacre that took place in Mid-1950s, 1974 movie.
Civil War:
In 1975, the Lebanese Civil War broke out and continued
until the beginning of the 1990s. If we want to chronicle the start
of the wave of civil war cinema in Lebanon, there is no doubt that
Maroun Baghdadi is the best example. Baghdadi is a Lebanese
director and writer who was born in the 1950s and began his
cinematic work with his first film, "Beirut Ya Beirut" in 1975,
that is, at the height of the civil war. He continued Baghdad for
15 years, expressing his films about the civil war and only.
Maroun Baghdadi's style has undoubtedly affected those
who followed it, so we see that the human theme is the dominant
one in the story even if the events take place in the background of
the war. Small human details are the most important, tales of
lovers, adolescents who are passionate about life, in addition to
the spread of a romantic poetic and dreamy language in all of his
films.

35
This unique style has carried the stories of Maroun Baghdadi
outside Lebanon, and his films were shown in European and
international film festivals, including the film "Hroub saghera"
that was shown during 1982 at the Cannes International Film
Festival "khareg alhayat" Which was shown in the official
competition of the Festival de Cannes in 1991, and won in the end
of the festival the prize of the jury to make the most important
Lebanese cinematic achievement of that era.
Also in the same generation, the war inspired the Lebanese
director Jean Chamoun to make films that were predominantly
documentary, in order to try through them to chronicle the civil
strife that Lebanon witnessed. Among the most prominent of
these films is his film "Tal Al-Zaatar" in 1976, in which he
recorded the horrific massacre that occurred against Palestinian
refugees in Tal al-Zaatar camp during the Lebanese Civil War..
Oscars: Co-Production Present
Now, nearly thirty years after the end of the Lebanese Civil
War, the remnants of war and its effects still dominate the style
of Lebanese filmmakers. Ziad Doueiri seems to be a clear
example of this. The man who started his career with the film
"Beirut algharbia" in 1998 and for which he won a special award
from the Cannes International Film Festival, continues to focus
in his films on stories of the civil war, whether in "West Beirut",
which is taking place. Its events are about the memories of Ziad
Doueiri himself in wartime, or his latest movie "alkadia 23",
which was nominated for an Oscar last year, and which revolves
around a quarrel between a Palestinian Muslim refugee and a
Lebanese Christian, and against the background of the quarrel,
Dwiri brings us back to memories of the civil war massacres as
well.

36
The new name also on the Lebanese cinema is the director
and actress Nadine Labaki, who appeared as a film director after
a short series in directing the music clips. Since her first movie
“Sukkar Banat” in 2007. the story revolves mainly around the
concerns of women in the Lebanese society, working women in
different ages searching about love. The film was shown at the
Cannes Film Festival as part of the "Director's Week."
Nadine Labaki's three films have two common factors, the
first of which is that they were all shown for the first time in
Cannes. After “sukar banat” in the Directors' Week, “Whlaa
Lewin” was shown in the Look What in 2011, before the film
“Cafer nahum” was finally shown in Official competition 2018,
and wins the jury prize.

37
G. Palestinian cinema:
The beginnings of Palestinian cinema go back to the 1930s.
The beginnings were individual initiatives of some people who
acquired cinematic equipment and filmed films. Palestinian
cinema is the documentary and narrative films produced by
Palestinian Arabs in historic Palestine before 1948 or those
produced by Palestinians after 1948.
H. Iraqi cinema:
The first film shown in Iraq was in 1909 and in 1921-1922 the
number of cinemas gradually increased, and the number of silent
films doubled until foreign speaking films began to appear, and
after 1927 Egyptian films also began to appear, and the first
cooperation at the Arab level in the field of cinema appeared. The
first cooperation at the Arab level in the field of cinema appeared
when the joint Iraqi-Egyptian film "ALKAHERA-Baghdad" was
shown.

I. Jordanian cinema:
The film “Struggle in Jerash” that was completed in 1958 is
considered the first real step on the way to establishing a film
industry in Jordan. The first official contribution to the creation

38
of Jordanian cinema came in 1965 with the establishment of the
Cinema and Photography Department of the Ministry of
Information. More than forty photographers .

J. Cinema in Gulf cooperation:


There is no film production in the conventional sense in the
Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and if the history of cinema
has exceeded a hundred years, then within half a century, the
number of feature-length films produced in the Gulf countries
does not exceed thirty films, Of the total of more than seven
thousand Arab feature films.
in Kuwait,
indicating that in 1946, he filmed a documentary film about
the start of pumping oil from Mina Al-Ahmadi. In 1950 AD, a
department for cinema and photography was established under
the “Department of Education” in the Ministry of Education,
now, and then 60 educational documentary films were produced.
In 1954, the Kuwait Cinema Company was established.
And after that, specifically in 1964 AD,was opened, the cinema
department in television in Kuwait, and produced from 20 to 30
films, as he produced the first short fictional film "alasefa",
presented by Muhammad Al-Sanousi, and dealt with the
confusion of two generations at that time, between the Kuwaiti in
the old and the Kuwaiti with his concepts and visions New. And

39
the journey continued by Khalid Al-Siddiq, Hisham Muhammad,
Abdul Rahman Al-Muslim, and others.
cinema in Bahrain,
indicating that the Kingdom was the pioneer in opening the
first cinema in the twenties of the last century. It was a hut made
of palm fronds, found in an area full of cafes, where people were
waiting for the arrival of the diving ships. And there are thirty
chairs, and a wooden panel is placed, which is the screen.

This pioneering experience developed after that, as the first large


and equipped exhibition house was established in 1937 AD, by:
Ali bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Abdullah Al-Zayed and Hussein
Yateem. that the United Arab Emirates is the largest cinema
market in the Gulf, and it is also at the forefront in terms of the
number of movie theaters, (191 galleries in 2009).
And the experience of producing the first fictional film, by
director Ali Al-Adoul, by "Aber Sabeel", began in 1989. Then the
first film competition was launched in April 2001, organized by
the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi. now the Dubai Film
Festival and the Abu Dhabi Film Festival have become important
festivals in the field of cinema in the Arab world. In recent years,
many Emirati films participated in a range of Arab and
international festivals.

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