A once renowned industry

1Under the monarchy Egypt developed a vibrant film industry and became a world leader in terms of production, particularly from the 1950s to the 1970s. Studio Misr was founded in 1935 and then nationalised in 1961. Thanks to this establishment and the Higher Institute of Cinema in Cairo, founded in 1959, the cinematographic industry acted as vector of cultural and political influence under Nasser and Sadat. Comedies, dramas and musicals featuring stars of song (Om Kulthum, Abdel Halim Hafez) and dance (Samia Gamal, Tahiya Kariokka) were distributed around the Arab world along with works spotlighting Nasserite exemplars (Saladin, by Youssef Shahine, 1963), anti-imperialism and the struggle against Israel. This cinema presented itself as modernist, critical of the old regime, and the bearer of a message. It denounced corruption and social immobility, and then, under Sadat, it attacked the excesses of the economic liberalisation policies.

7.1 Poster for the film Serra fil Minaa, released in English as Dark Waters, 1956

Crises and competition

2The disengagement of the State in the 1990s weakened the industry and obliged it to search out new production partners. The launch of pan-Arab satellite TV channels led to a brain drain of technicians away from Egyptian production companies and into the Gulf: less than 20 films per year were being made by the end of the 1990s as opposed to 55 in 1960 and 70 in 1992. Of course, Egypt could still call upon its homegrown star system, but celebrities were costly for limited budgets and this affected production values.

3Within a context distinguished by the separation between intellectual and commercial films, the national audience remained faithful, opting for a cinema dominated by action movies, comedies and melodramas. This demand forced the industry to present works aimed at spectators from the affluent middle classes who frequented the multiplexes. The majority of the existing 295 cinemas are currently concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria. The audience for films, which is massive via television, has changed with the illegal distribution of films through the Internet, representing a loss of earnings as well as an opportunity for increased visibility.

4Since the beginning of the 21^st century some productions have opted for overseas location filming. Computer generated special effects remain rare, while the regional market has become highly competitive: Turkish and Indian blockbusters and television series vie with Egyptian productions; Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate has emerged as a solid player; Cairo Film Festival must compete with events in Marrakesh, Tunis and the Gulf States, which were the main export markets for Egyptian films. Such films now count for a very small share of the films distributed to North Africa (6 to 8% of Egyptian film exports as against 60 to 70% to the Gulf). The majority of Egyptian films are poorly distributed across European and American networks, with the exception of a few award-winning directors such as Yousry Nasrallah (After the Battle, 2012) and Mohammed Diab (Cairo 678, 2010; Clash, 2016). Even a production as big as The Gate of the Sun (Nasrallah, 2004) received relatively little exposure.

7.2 Egyptian cinema in the Middle East, 2011 and 2016

Censorship versus socially engaged cinema

5A sort of revival has occurred, tied into international networks and the treatment of themes comprehensible to a Western audience. Marwan Hamed’s adaptation of the best-selling novel The Yacoubian Building is a case in point. Social and political topics always attract attention (The Baby Doll Night, Adel Adeeb, 2008). The uprisings of 2011, despite being a moment of crisis in productions, provoked a return to advocacy filmmaking, with movies such as Nawara (Hala Khalil, 2015) and 18 Days, a collective anthology film representing the events of 2011. Filmmakers and actors like Khalid Abdallah, who was involved in the Mosireen project to transmit images of the revolution, were in the front rank of the Tahrir demonstrations.

6The authorities have supported this prestigious national industry through laws protecting the development and organisation of festivals – Alexandria’s Mediterranean Countries Film Festival since 2006, and the Luxor African Film Festival since 2012. Nonetheless, censorship, in place since 1954 and subject to restrictions imposed by the military authorities, is a significant feature in the cinematographic milieu. The censorship office is very sensitive to moral and religious issues, as well as the country’s image, and thus it limits any space for critical thinking and regularly imposes cuts (Kiss Me Not on the Eyes, Jocelyne Saab, 2005). As a result, the filming and screening in Egypt of The Nile Hilton Incident (Tarik Saleh, 2017) was not possible.

7.3 Poster for The Nile Hilton Incident (2017)