film critics and writers have expressed
confidence in the strengthening of
the country’s film industry. But cen-
sorship remains a huge deterrent.
“During Mubarak’s era there was less
censorship of cinema, especially in
the later years when the government
was becoming weak and had other
priorities. Now there seems to be
more fear in general and artists are
practising more self-censorship,” says
film director Khaled El Hagar, whose
filmEl Shooq(‘Lust’) won the Golden
Pyramid award at the 2010 Cairo Film
Festival – the first time an Egyptian
film had won the trophy in 14 years.Reflecting the regional shift in film
production,thereareagrowingnumber
offilmfestivalsintheGulf.Theyarewell
attended and have diverse selections.
At the 2013 Dubai International Film
Festival, Egyptian director Mahmood
Soliman won best director and best
documentary forWe Have Never Been
Kids, a co-production between Egypt,
the UAE, Qatar and Lebanon that was
critical on social and political issues.
However, last year, at the same festival,
Ahmed Roshdy’s animated shortThe
Unknown Sweet Potato Seller, about
the true murder of a 12-year-old po-
tato-seller by a police conscript nearTahrirSquarein 2012,waspulledjust24
hours before it was due to be screened.
Mavie Maher, a young filmmaker in
Cairo, wants to bridge the gap between
popular and critical appraisal. With her
Egyptian and French producers she is
still trying to find funding in the face of
likely objections from the censors. Her
latest film follows the private lives of
security services members and church-
men, and deals with sectarianism.FAMEPROTECTS
“Censorship in Egypt is really a matter
of people. If the censor is an educated
guy, he will be more flexible. Also, if the
filmmaker is famous, it will definitely
help” says Medhat El-Adl. Fame and
international attention garnered at
the Cannes Festival was surely what
allowed Mohamed Diab’sEshtebak
(‘Clash’) to be screened in Egypt last
year (see box), Maher believes. “But
the authorities also knew it is a very
arty movie and [thought] not many
people would see it anyway.”
Maher thinks a co-production with
foreigners would alleviate censorship
problems and make it easier to film on
the street, even if she may have to have
two versions of the movie. She is cau-
tious,though,nottohavehercharacters
stereotyped by Western backers who
would want her to modify the script.
Despite all these challenges, many
artists still make the pilgrimage to
Egypt to become famous, in the
footsteps of those that came before
them. “Egypt is a stepping stone,” says
Mazzika’s Gaber. “It allows a singer to
be known in the whole Arab world.
Then, with the Gulf money, you can
get famous internationally.”TONY BARSON ARCHIVE/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES ALL RIGHTS RESRVEDLeft: Oum Kalthoum, “the
star of the east, and Youssef
Chahine’s neo-realist film
Cairo Stationepitomised
Egypt’s cultural golden age.
Right: Present-day star Amr
Diab had the clout to fight
Saudi record label Rotana in
the courts, while the Cannes
success of Arab Spring-
themed movieClashput
Egyptian censors in a bind
IN 1958CAIRO STATION, directed by Youssef Chahine in a style comparable
to Italian neorealism, became the first Arab or African film ever to compete
for an Oscar nomination, in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Egypt
has sent 32 more entries for the award to date – more than any other Arab
country – but none have won the prize.
The Egyptian Academy is known for selecting films to send to the Oscars
that are controversial at home. Egyptian parliamentarians and Muslim clerics
tried to ban 2006’sThe Yacoubian Buildingby Marwan Hamed for its depiction
of Islamic fundamentalism and homosexuality. Most recently Mohamed Diab’s
Eshtebak(‘Clash’), which had already been in the official selection at the
Cannes Festival and inspired Tom Hanks to write a fan letter to the director,
irked the ruling elite with its Arab Spring theme. The film was shot in secret,
entirely in the back of a police van.
After Diab was subject to a media smear campaign that claimed his film
was part of an international conspiracy, his Egyptian distributor pulled out
at the last minute. Another stepped in, the film was released in fewer theatres,
but still topped the Egyptian box office with $225,000 in its first week.
Diab thinks the decision to let the film be screened was a damage limitation
exercise by the government: “They didn’t want to give the film the ‘banned’
label,” he toldThe Hollywood Reporter. “Why ban the film and face an
international scandal when they can kill it behind the scenes? That’s the new
model on the rise, and it’s called Egypt.”Theracetothetopontheworldstage
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