that had a nationalist edge and socially critical
content, which directly appealed to Arab popular
audiences that had living memories of colonialism
and foreign domination.
Arab cinema also developed a star system.
Popular singers such as Umm kUlthUm, Shadya,
and Abd al-Halim Hafiz promoted their musi-
cal artistry through cinema from the late 1930s
through the 1960s and broadened their appeal
throughout the Arab World. Egypt had its equiva-
lent of Marilyn Monroe in Samya Gamal (1960s)
and even its equal to actor-political activist Susan
Sarandon in Yusra, who has fought censorship and
championed Arab causes such as opposing foreign
aggression against Iraq in the 1990s and support-
ing Palestinian rights.
The Arab world has produced an impressive
array of directors who have mastered film lan-
guage in a way that has created a body of serious
artistic production that is of world-class quality.
Perhaps the most renowned of these artist-direc-
tors is Egyptian Youssef Chahine (d. 2008), a
Christian by heritage, whose work in the early
1950s launched the career of Omar Sharif and
who continues to be prolific to this day (Alexan-
dria.... New York, 2004). Since the 1980s in the
era of globalization, European financing (espe-
cially French) has lent new life to an ailing Arab
film industry and cultivated talented new direc-
tors such as Yousri Nasrallah (Gate of the Sun,
2004, Egypt), Nouri Bouzid (Man of Ashes, 1986,
Tunisia), Moufida Tlatli (Silence of the Palaces,Movie billboards in Cairo, Egypt. The billboard on the far left is for Al-Mansi (The forgotten one), featuring Adil Imam
and Yusra. ( Juan E. Campo)
cinema 145 J