Youssef Chahine
Encyclopedia
Youssef Chahine (January 25, 1926 in Alexandria
, Egypt
–July 27, 2008 in Cairo
, Egypt
) was an Egyptian
film director
active in the Egyptian film industry
since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif
. A critically acclaimed director frequently seen in film festivals during decades, Chahine also had his reach to wider international filmgoers' audiences as one of the co-directors of 11'9"01 September 11.
Catholic
father, from Zahlé
in east Lebanon
, and a Lebanese
Roman Catholic mother. Although born a Christian
, Youssef Chahine was not a believer in organized religion and it was stated that, if asked of his religion, he would reply: Egyptian.
"Chahine" is Gallicised version of Turkish "Şahin" (falcon).
Fascinated by the performing arts from an early age, young Chahine began to create shows at home for his family. Chahine began his education at a Frères' school Collège Saint Marc. Growing up, he attended Alexandria's elite Victoria College
. In 1946, Chahine convinced his parents to let him travel to Hollywood to study acting, where he attended the Pasadena Playhouse
outside of Los Angeles, California.
, he turned his attention to directing. Cinematographer Alvise Orfanelli helped Chahine into the film business. Chahine directed his first feature film in 1950, Baba Amin (Daddy Amin) at the age of 23, two years before the revolution of 1952 that saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the rise of the charismatic leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. One year later, with Nile Boy (1951) he was first invited to the Cannes Film Festival
. Sira’ fi-l-Wadi (The Blazing Sun, 1954) introduced Omar Sharif to the cinematic screen. In 1970 he was awarded a Golden Tanit
at the Carthage Film Festival
for al-Ikhtiyar (The Choice). With The Sparrow (1973), in which he showed his political opinions after the Six Day War with Israel
, he directed the first Egypt
-Algeria
co-production.
He won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Priz
at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival
for Alexandria... Why?
(1978), the first installment in what would prove to be an autobiographic quartet, completed with An Egyptian Story (1982), Alexandria, Again and Again (1990), and Alexandria...New York (2004). The producer Humbert Balsan
went to Cannes in 2004 with Alexandria... New York, his ninth film with the Egyptian director since 1985's Adieu, Bonaparte. In one of his films The Sixth Day اليوم السادس, an adaptation of a novel written in French by Lebanese writer André Chedid, the famous Egyptian singer Dalida
was the protagonist in the role of a poor Egyptian woman.
About his work, Chahine has said, "I make my films first for myself. Then for my family. Then for Alexandria. Then for Egypt," Chahine once famously said. "If the Arab world likes them, ahlan wa sahlan (welcome). If the foreign audience likes them, they are doubly welcome."
(Bab al-Hadid), in 1958.
Chahine himself plays the central character, Kenaoui, a simple-minded man, beneficently employed as a newspaper-seller. He cuts pictures of women from magazines for the station hut he lives in, but a living focus of his sexual frustrations is Hanouma (played by the popular actress Hind Rostom), who sells lemonade and is engaged to Abou Serib (Farid Chawqi), porter and trade union organiser. With unthinking but affectionate playfulness Hanouma exacerbates Kenaoui’s frustration and adds to his confusion which leads to death. Egyptian audiences, used to simpler melodramas, were disturbed and rejected the film. It was not seen again for some 20 years.
In 1963 Chahine made Saladin
(original title: El Nasser - defender/deliverer - Salah ed-Dine), an epic, three-hour film in CinemaScope named after the 12th Century Sultan who, as the film begins, is preparing to liberate Jerusalem from its Christian Crusader occupiers. It was scripted by Naguib Mahfouz and the poet and progressive writer, Abderrahman Cherkaoui, and a parallel between Saladin and President Nasser is easily drawn. Saladin is shown as an educated and peaceable man - at one point he is asked to give clandestine medical help to Richard (the Lion Heart), shot by an arrow, and later he tells him: "Religion is God’s and the Earth is for all ... I guarantee to all Christians in Jerusalem the same rights as are enjoyed by Muslims."
A novel by Cherkaoui, serialised in 1952, formed the basis of The Earth (1968), noted particularly for its image of the peasant farmer - "eternal ‘damned of the earth’" - which broke with "the ridiculous image the cinema had (hitherto) given him" (Khaled Osman). There followed a further collaboration with Mahfouz on The Choice (1970), ostensibly a murder investigation story involving twin brothers, but with the underlying theme of intellectual schizophrenia. In 1976 he made The Return Of The Prodigal Son, a "musical tragedy", but four years earlier had made one of his greatest films, The Sparrow (1972), both co-productions with Algeria. A journalist and a young police officer meet while investigating incidents of corruption. They and other people of the left pass through Bahiyya’s house, whose name represents the idea of the mother country and is invoked in Cheikh Imam’s song at the end of the film. After Nasser’s announcement of the defeat in the war and his subsequent resignation, Bahiyya runs into the street, followed by a growing crowd, shouting "No! we must fight. We won’t accept defeat!"
In Alexandria, Why? (1978), Yehia, a young Victoria College student, is obsessed with Hollywood and dreams of making cinema. It is 1942, the Germans are about to enter Alexandria, thought preferable to the presence of the British. In An Egyptian Story (1982), as a result of a heart operation, he reviews his life: moments of Chahine’s own films are replayed against their autobiographical and social historical context. Memory is very important to Chahine’s most recent work —whether of the "city of my childhood, Alexandria, between the two world wars tolerant, secular, open to Muslims, Christians and Jews" or of a more distant past: such as evoked in Adieu Bonaparte (1985), based on the cultural aspect of Bonaparte’s expedition into Egypt (1798). "Out of this marvellous confrontation there was a rebirth of Egyptian consciousness, of its past ... which belongs to humanity."
In 1992 Jacques Lassalle approached him to stage a piece of his choice for Comédie-Française
: Chahine chose to adapt Albert Camus
' Caligula
, which proved hugely successful. The same year he started writing The Emigrant (1994), a story inspired by the Biblical character of Joseph
, son of Jacob
.
This had long been a dream-project and he finally got to shoot it in 1994. This film created a controversy in Egypt
between the enlightened wing and the fundamentalists who opposed the depiction of religious characters in films. In 1997, 46 years and 5 invitations later, his work was acknowledged at the Cannes Film Festival with a lifetime achievement award on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the festival. He is also credited with discovering Omar Sharif
, whose first starring role was in Chahine's film The Blazing Sun (1954). He also provided Hind Rostom with a very early role as a murder victim in Bab al-Hadid (Cairo Station).
During his long career Chahine produced different movies, including the famous Aly Badrakhan's Chafika et Metwal
.
.
Rumours were rife that Youssef Chahine was gay, it is almost an open secret with stories about the relationships he developed with the "young actors" he introduced over the years. Few days ago (4/3/2011) and in an interview with the international Egyptian actor Omar Sheriff, the rumours were confirmed when Sheriff indicated that his working relationship in the earlier days with Chahine was cut short as he made "unwanted sexual advances" on Omar Cheriff who rejected this.
in a coma
following an apparent cerebral haemorrhage, on Sunday, June 15, 2008.
On Monday, June 16, 2008, Chahine was flown to Paris
on an emergency flight and admitted to the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris, where his niece told AFP
his condition was "critical but stable."
Youssef Chahine died in his Cairo home on Sunday July 27, 2008.
He was honoured by BAFTA for his contribution to film.
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
–July 27, 2008 in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
) was an Egyptian
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
active in the Egyptian film industry
Cinema of Egypt
The cinema of Egypt refers to the flourishing Egyptian Arabic-language film industry based in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Since 1976, Cairo has held the annual Cairo International Film Festival, which has been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. There is also...
since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
. A critically acclaimed director frequently seen in film festivals during decades, Chahine also had his reach to wider international filmgoers' audiences as one of the co-directors of 11'9"01 September 11.
Early life
Chahine was born on Jan. 25, 1926 in Alexandria, Egypt to a LebaneseLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
father, from Zahlé
Zahlé
Zahlé is the capital and largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 50,000 inhabitants, it is the fourth largest city in Lebanon, after Beirut, Tripoli and Jounieh...
in east Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, and a Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
Roman Catholic mother. Although born a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, Youssef Chahine was not a believer in organized religion and it was stated that, if asked of his religion, he would reply: Egyptian.
"Chahine" is Gallicised version of Turkish "Şahin" (falcon).
Fascinated by the performing arts from an early age, young Chahine began to create shows at home for his family. Chahine began his education at a Frères' school Collège Saint Marc. Growing up, he attended Alexandria's elite Victoria College
Victoria College, Alexandria
Victoria College, Alexandria, was founded in 1902 under the impetus of the recently ennobled Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer of the Barings Bank, that was heavily invested in Egyptian stability. For years the British Consul-General was ex officio on the board of Victoria College...
. In 1946, Chahine convinced his parents to let him travel to Hollywood to study acting, where he attended the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
outside of Los Angeles, California.
Starting as a director
After returning to EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, he turned his attention to directing. Cinematographer Alvise Orfanelli helped Chahine into the film business. Chahine directed his first feature film in 1950, Baba Amin (Daddy Amin) at the age of 23, two years before the revolution of 1952 that saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the rise of the charismatic leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. One year later, with Nile Boy (1951) he was first invited to the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. Sira’ fi-l-Wadi (The Blazing Sun, 1954) introduced Omar Sharif to the cinematic screen. In 1970 he was awarded a Golden Tanit
Tanit d'or
The Tanit d'or is the grand prize of the Carthage Film Festival, hosted biennially in Tunisia. The award is named for the lunar goddess of ancient Carthage and takes the shape of her symbol, a trapezium surmounted by a horizontal line and a circle....
at the Carthage Film Festival
Carthage Film Festival
The Carthage Film Festival is a biannual October film festival hosted by the government of Tunisia. It alternates with the Damascus International Film Festival....
for al-Ikhtiyar (The Choice). With The Sparrow (1973), in which he showed his political opinions after the Six Day War with Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, he directed the first Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
-Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
co-production.
He won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Priz
Jury Grand Prix
The Jury Grand Prix is a Silver Bear award given by the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival to one of the feature films in competition...
at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival
29th Berlin International Film Festival
The 29th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 20 to March 3, 1979.-Jury:* Julie Christie* Romain Gary* Ingrid Caven* Georg Alexander* Liliana Cavani* Jörn Donner* Paul Bartel* Pál Gábor-Films in competition:...
for Alexandria... Why?
Alexandria... Why?
Alexandria... Why? is a 1978 Egyptian drama film directed by Youssef Chahine. It was entered into the 29th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Priz.-Cast:* Ahmed Zaki - Ibrahim...
(1978), the first installment in what would prove to be an autobiographic quartet, completed with An Egyptian Story (1982), Alexandria, Again and Again (1990), and Alexandria...New York (2004). The producer Humbert Balsan
Humbert Balsan
Humbert Balsan, born Humbert Jean René Balsan was a French film producer and chairman of the European Film Academy. He was renowned for securing financing and distribution for diverse and often challenging films.In February 2005, Balsan was found dead in the offices of his production company,...
went to Cannes in 2004 with Alexandria... New York, his ninth film with the Egyptian director since 1985's Adieu, Bonaparte. In one of his films The Sixth Day اليوم السادس, an adaptation of a novel written in French by Lebanese writer André Chedid, the famous Egyptian singer Dalida
Dalida
Dalida , born with Italian name of Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a world-famous singer and actress born in Egypt with Italian origins but naturalised French with the name Yolanda Gigliotti. She spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptian community, but she lived most of her adult...
was the protagonist in the role of a poor Egyptian woman.
About his work, Chahine has said, "I make my films first for myself. Then for my family. Then for Alexandria. Then for Egypt," Chahine once famously said. "If the Arab world likes them, ahlan wa sahlan (welcome). If the foreign audience likes them, they are doubly welcome."
Cinema
Chahine’s early films in Egypt included Raging Sky (1953), begun while Farouk was still King and dealing with a peasant farmer’s challenge to a feudal landlord. But the first truly indicative film of his style and preoccupations was Cairo Central StationThe Iron Gate
The Iron Gate is a 1958 Egyptian drama film directed by Youssef Chahine. It was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival. The film was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 31st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.-Plot:A newsstand...
(Bab al-Hadid), in 1958.
Chahine himself plays the central character, Kenaoui, a simple-minded man, beneficently employed as a newspaper-seller. He cuts pictures of women from magazines for the station hut he lives in, but a living focus of his sexual frustrations is Hanouma (played by the popular actress Hind Rostom), who sells lemonade and is engaged to Abou Serib (Farid Chawqi), porter and trade union organiser. With unthinking but affectionate playfulness Hanouma exacerbates Kenaoui’s frustration and adds to his confusion which leads to death. Egyptian audiences, used to simpler melodramas, were disturbed and rejected the film. It was not seen again for some 20 years.
In 1963 Chahine made Saladin
Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din (film)
Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din الناصر صلاح الدين is a movie that was released in 1963, written by Youssef El Sebai, based on the novel by Naguib Mahfouz directed by Youssef Chahine, and starring Ahmed Mazhar as Saladin, Salah Zulfikar, Mohamed Abdel Gawad, Tewfik El Dekn, Omar El-Hariri, Mahmoud...
(original title: El Nasser - defender/deliverer - Salah ed-Dine), an epic, three-hour film in CinemaScope named after the 12th Century Sultan who, as the film begins, is preparing to liberate Jerusalem from its Christian Crusader occupiers. It was scripted by Naguib Mahfouz and the poet and progressive writer, Abderrahman Cherkaoui, and a parallel between Saladin and President Nasser is easily drawn. Saladin is shown as an educated and peaceable man - at one point he is asked to give clandestine medical help to Richard (the Lion Heart), shot by an arrow, and later he tells him: "Religion is God’s and the Earth is for all ... I guarantee to all Christians in Jerusalem the same rights as are enjoyed by Muslims."
A novel by Cherkaoui, serialised in 1952, formed the basis of The Earth (1968), noted particularly for its image of the peasant farmer - "eternal ‘damned of the earth’" - which broke with "the ridiculous image the cinema had (hitherto) given him" (Khaled Osman). There followed a further collaboration with Mahfouz on The Choice (1970), ostensibly a murder investigation story involving twin brothers, but with the underlying theme of intellectual schizophrenia. In 1976 he made The Return Of The Prodigal Son, a "musical tragedy", but four years earlier had made one of his greatest films, The Sparrow (1972), both co-productions with Algeria. A journalist and a young police officer meet while investigating incidents of corruption. They and other people of the left pass through Bahiyya’s house, whose name represents the idea of the mother country and is invoked in Cheikh Imam’s song at the end of the film. After Nasser’s announcement of the defeat in the war and his subsequent resignation, Bahiyya runs into the street, followed by a growing crowd, shouting "No! we must fight. We won’t accept defeat!"
In Alexandria, Why? (1978), Yehia, a young Victoria College student, is obsessed with Hollywood and dreams of making cinema. It is 1942, the Germans are about to enter Alexandria, thought preferable to the presence of the British. In An Egyptian Story (1982), as a result of a heart operation, he reviews his life: moments of Chahine’s own films are replayed against their autobiographical and social historical context. Memory is very important to Chahine’s most recent work —whether of the "city of my childhood, Alexandria, between the two world wars tolerant, secular, open to Muslims, Christians and Jews" or of a more distant past: such as evoked in Adieu Bonaparte (1985), based on the cultural aspect of Bonaparte’s expedition into Egypt (1798). "Out of this marvellous confrontation there was a rebirth of Egyptian consciousness, of its past ... which belongs to humanity."
In 1992 Jacques Lassalle approached him to stage a piece of his choice for Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
: Chahine chose to adapt Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
' Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
, which proved hugely successful. The same year he started writing The Emigrant (1994), a story inspired by the Biblical character of Joseph
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
, son of Jacob
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
.
This had long been a dream-project and he finally got to shoot it in 1994. This film created a controversy in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
between the enlightened wing and the fundamentalists who opposed the depiction of religious characters in films. In 1997, 46 years and 5 invitations later, his work was acknowledged at the Cannes Film Festival with a lifetime achievement award on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the festival. He is also credited with discovering Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
, whose first starring role was in Chahine's film The Blazing Sun (1954). He also provided Hind Rostom with a very early role as a murder victim in Bab al-Hadid (Cairo Station).
During his long career Chahine produced different movies, including the famous Aly Badrakhan's Chafika et Metwal
Chafika et Metwal
Chafika et Metwal Chafika et Metwal Chafika et Metwal ("Chafika et Metwal"," Shafika and Metwali "," Shafika wa Metwalli(y)" ("شفيقة و متولي") is a 1979 Egyptian drama/romance film starring Souad Hosni and Ahmed Zaki...
.
Awards
Chahine was awarded the 50th annual lifetime achievement award at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival1997 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Isabelle Adjani *Gong Li *Mira Sorvino *Paul Auster *Tim Burton *Luc Bondy *Patrick Dupond *Mike Leigh *Nanni Moretti *Michael Ondaatje -Feature film competition:...
.
Controversies
- The Sparrow attacks Egyptian corruption and blamed it for the defeat in the Six Day War.
- Cairo Station, albeit a classic of Egyptian cinema, also shocked viewers both by the sympathy with which a "fallen woman" is depicted and by the violence with which another is killed.
- During the several following years Chahine found himself increasingly in conflict with the government-backed film industry of Egypt and its heavy political restrictions in filmmaking. In 1964 he voluntarily went into exile to Lebanon, where he shot two musicals: Bayya al-Khawatim (1965, Ring Seller ) and Rim al-Dhahab (1967, Sands of Gold ). Ring Seller became one of the best musicals of Arab cinema, bringing success to Youssef Chahine, whereas Sands of Gold, due to delays in shooting and its box-office failure, forced him to quite his work in Lebanon and return to Egypt.
Gay-Bisexual themes in his work
Chahine frequently included gay or bisexual themes in his work. Alexandria...Why? tells the story of two young men—one Egyptian, the other European—who fall in love during World War II. Yehia’s cousin is gay and ‘buys’ drunken British soldiers. Jewish friends are forced to leave and decide to settle in Palestine. In An Egyptian Story (1982) Yehia is a film-maker, going to London (as Chahine had earlier) for open-heart surgery. He has a brief affair with a taxi driver.Rumours were rife that Youssef Chahine was gay, it is almost an open secret with stories about the relationships he developed with the "young actors" he introduced over the years. Few days ago (4/3/2011) and in an interview with the international Egyptian actor Omar Sheriff, the rumours were confirmed when Sheriff indicated that his working relationship in the earlier days with Chahine was cut short as he made "unwanted sexual advances" on Omar Cheriff who rejected this.
Illness and death
Chahine was hospitalized at El Shorouq hospital in CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
following an apparent cerebral haemorrhage, on Sunday, June 15, 2008.
On Monday, June 16, 2008, Chahine was flown to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on an emergency flight and admitted to the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris, where his niece told AFP
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
his condition was "critical but stable."
Youssef Chahine died in his Cairo home on Sunday July 27, 2008.
He was honoured by BAFTA for his contribution to film.
Filmography
| # | Year | Arabic Title | Translation | Transliteration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1950 | بابا أمين | Papa Amin | Baba Amin | |
| 2 | 1951 | ابن النيل | Son of the Nile | Ibn al-Nil | |
| 3 | 1952 | المهرج الكبير | The Great Clown | El Mohareg el Kebyr | |
| 4 | 1953 | سيدة القطار | Lady on the Train | Saydat al Ketaar | |
| 5 | نساء بلا رجال | Women without Men | Nisaa bila Regal | ||
| 6 | 1954 | صراع فى الوادي | Struggle in the Valley | Sira` Fi al-Wadi Sira` Fi al-Wadi Sira` Fi al-Wadi is a 1954 Egyptian romance/drama film directed by the acclaimed Egyptian film director Youssef Chahine and written by Helmy Halim and Ali El Zorkani. It starred Omar Sharif and Faten Hamama. This was the first film role that Omar Sharif played and it was this role that earned him... |
Aka The Blazing Sun |
| 7 | شيطان الصحراء | The Desert Devil | Shaitan al Sahraa | ||
| 8 | 1956 | صراع فى الميناء | Struggle on the Pier | Sira` fi el-Minaa | Aka Dark Waters |
| 9 | 1957 | ودعت حبك | Farewell to Your Love | Wadda'tu Hobbaka | |
| 10 | إنت حبيبى | You're My Love | Enta Habiby | ||
| 11 | 1958 | باب الحديد | Cairo Station | Bab al-Hadid The Iron Gate The Iron Gate is a 1958 Egyptian drama film directed by Youssef Chahine. It was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival. The film was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 31st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.-Plot:A newsstand... |
|
| 12 | جميلة بوحريد | Jamila, the Algerian | Djamila Bouhired Djamila Bouhired Djamila Bouhired is an Algerian revolutionary.Bouhired is a nationalist who opposed French colonial rule of Algeria. Djamila Bouhired was raised in a middle-class family, she went to a French school and joined the Algerian National Liberation Front while a student activist. Later, she worked as a... |
||
| 13 | 1959 | حب إلى الأبد | Love, Forever | Hobb lel Abad | Aka Forever Yours |
| 14 | 1960 | بين ايديك | In Your Hands | Bein Edeik | |
| 15 | نداء العشاق | A Lover's Call | Nidaa al Oushaak | ||
| 16 | 1961 | رجل في حياتي | A Man in My Life | Rajul fe Haiaty | |
| 17 | 1963 | الناصر صلاح الدين | The Victorious Saladin | Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din (film) Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din الناصر صلاح الدين is a movie that was released in 1963, written by Youssef El Sebai, based on the novel by Naguib Mahfouz directed by Youssef Chahine, and starring Ahmed Mazhar as Saladin, Salah Zulfikar, Mohamed Abdel Gawad, Tewfik El Dekn, Omar El-Hariri, Mahmoud... |
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| 18 | 1964 | فجر يوم جديد | Dawn of a New Day | Fagr Youm Gedeed | |
| 19 | 1965 | بياع الخواتم | The Ring Salesman | 'Biyaa El Khawatem' |
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| 20 | 1966 | رمال من ذهب | Golden Sands | Rimal min Thahab | |
| 21 | 1967 | عيد الميرون | The Feast of Mairun | Eid al Mairun | Short film |
| 22 | 1968 | الناس والنيل | Those People of the Nile | Al Nas wal Nil | |
| 23 | 1969 | الأرض | The Land | Al-Ard The Land (1969 film) The Land is a 1969 Egyptian drama film directed by Youssef Chahine, based on a popular novel by Abdel Rahman al-Sharqawi. The film narrates the conflict between peasants and their landlord in rural Egypt in the 1930s, and explores the complex relation between individual interests and collective... |
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| 24 | 1970 | الإختيار | The Choice | Al-Ekhtyiar | |
| 25 | 1972 | سلوى الفتاة الصغيرة التى تكلم الأبقار | Salwa the Little Girl who Talks to Cows | Salwa al Fatah al Saghira allaty Tokalem el Abkar |
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| 26 | 1973 | العصفور | The Sparrow | El Asfur | |
| 27 | انطلاق | Forward We Go | Intilak | Documentary | |
| 28 | 1976 | عودة الابن الضال | Return of The Prodigal Son | Awdet el Ebn el Dal | |
| 29 | 1978 | إسكندرية... ليه؟ | Alexandria... Why? Alexandria... Why? Alexandria... Why? is a 1978 Egyptian drama film directed by Youssef Chahine. It was entered into the 29th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Priz.-Cast:* Ahmed Zaki - Ibrahim... |
Iskandariyah... lih? | |
| 30 | 1982 | حدوتة مصرية | An Egyptian Tale | Hadduta Misriya | |
| 31 | 1985 | وداعًا بونابرت | Adieu Bonaparte | Wadaan Bonabart Adieu Bonaparte Adieu Bonaparte is a 1985 French-Egyptian historical drama film directed by Youssef Chahine. It was entered into the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Michel Piccoli - Cafarelli* Mohsen Mohieddin - Ali* Patrice Chéreau - Napoléon Bonaparte... |
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| 32 | 1986 | اليوم السادس | The Sixth Day | Al-Yawm al-Sadis | |
| 33 | 1989 | إسكندرية كمان وكمان | Alexandria Again and Again | Iskandariyah Kaman wa Kaman | |
| 34 | 1991 | القاهرة منورة بأهلها | Cairo as Told by Chahin | El Kahera Menawara be Ahlaha | TV documentary |
| 35 | 1994 | المهاجر | The Emigrant | Al-Mohagir | |
| 36 | 1997 | المصير | The Destiny | Al-Massir Destiny (1997 film) Destiny is a 1997 French-Egyptian historical drama film directed by Youssef Chahine. It was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.... |
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| 37 | 1998 | كلها خطوة | It's Only a Step | Kolaha Khatwa | Short film |
| 38 | 1999 | الآخر | The Other | Al-Akhar The Other (1999 film) The Other is a 1999 French-Egyptian drama film directed by Youssef Chahine. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Nabila Ebeid - Margaret* Mahmoud Hemida - Khalil* Hanan Tork - Hanane... |
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| 39 | 2001 | سكوت ح نصور | Silence, We're Rolling | Sokoot Hansawwar | |
| 40 | 2002 | 11, سبتمبر | September, 11th | Aka 11'09"01 Eleven Minutes, Nine Seconds, One Image | |
| 41 | 2004 | إسكندرية-نيويورك | Alexandria-New York | Iskandariyah-New York Alexandria... New York Alexandria... New York is a 2004 French-Egyptian drama film directed by Youssef Chahine. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Mahmoud Hemida - Yehia... |
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| 42 | 2007 | هي فوضى..؟ | Is This Chaos..? | Heya Fawda..? Le Chaos Le Chaos is the final film from the Egyptian director Youssef Chahine.... |
Premiere at the Venice Film Festival Venice Film Festival The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the... |