Khairy Beshara is an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since the 1970s. He is considered one of the Egyptian directors who re-defined Realism in Egyptian cinema in the 1980s. In a recent book published by Bibliotheca Alexandrina in 2007 about the most important 100 films in the history of Egyptian cinema, three of his movies were listed: The Collar and the Bracelet, Bitter Day, Sweet Day, and Ice Cream in Gleem.
Kal Naga, is an Egyptian actor, director and producer. He is recognized primarily for his work in Egypt and the Middle East, but has increasingly ventured into American and British film and television roles. He started acting and directing plays and musicals in Egypt while studying theatre at The American University in Cairo. Beginning his professional acting career in 2000, Naga starred in several movies through the next decade with roles encompassing several genres, from musicals None but that! (2007), action Agamista (2007), ''Eyes Of A Thief'' (2014), thrillers Kashf Hesab (2007), art-house Heliopolis (2009), Villa 69 (2013), Decor (2014), and slapstick comedy Habibi Naêman (2008). Additionally, he has participated in several European film festivals, where he received a range of awards as an actor and producer. Since 2016, he has acted in several English-speaking roles, such as Tyrant on FX, History Channel's Vikings, and the BBC's TV mini-series The Last Post, and announced to appear in the upcoming Netflix Show Messiah 2019. In a film festival in 2016 that celebrated Arab film submissions to the Oscars, he was noted as being the most submitted actor in Arabic films submissions to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He is often tagged in western media as "Egypt's Brad Pitt", and he has also been described as "the next Omar Sharif" especially after his American debut movie Civic Duty in 2007. Chosen as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in 2007, Naga played a pivotal role in child rights awareness, as well as the very first HIV awareness campaigns in Egypt and the Arab world, and participated in several international causes, including advocating for democracy in his home country Egypt. He is one of the most recognizable celebrity faces of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, taking part in mass demonstrations in Cairo that led to the removal of President Mubarak. He faced defamation campaigns against him by the state-owned media during the Mubarak era before the January 25th, 2011 revolution in Egypt, and several times again from the 2013 "coup d'etat" General Sisi government in Egypt in retaliation for his advocacy about the deterioration of human rights situation in Egypt.
The Egyptian film industry is today based mainly in Cairo, which is sometimes referred to as Hollywood on the Nile or Hollywood of the East, despite having its beginnings in the city of Alexandria in the early 20th century. A strong industry grew in Egypt with a high distribution rate among the Arab world, and Cairo produces around three-quarters of the Arab world's screen output. It has had a large effect on the African and Arab film industry since the early 20th century.
Arab cinema or Arabic cinema refers to the film industry of the Arab world. Most productions are from the Egyptian cinema. Currently, the Middle East's largest cinema chain is Vox, owned by UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas.
The cinema of Lebanon, according to film critic and historian Roy Armes, is the only other cinema in the Arabic-speaking region, beside Egypt's, that could amount to a national cinema. Cinema in Lebanon has been in existence since the 1920s, and the country has produced more than 500 films.
Menna Shalabi, also spelled Shalaby, is an Egyptian actress.
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, or PÖFF, is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is one of the largest film festivals in Northern Europe. In 2014 it was upgraded to an A-list festival by FIAPF.
Daoud Abdel Sayed is an Egyptian director and screenwriter. He was born in Cairo in 1946. He started as the assistant of Youssef Chahine in The Land. He made several critically acclaimed films, and won several international awards notably for The Land of Fear which was produced in 1999.
Warsaw Film Festival, also known as Warsaw International Film Festival, is an annual international film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland.
Amr Waked is an Egyptian film, television and stage actor. He is best known to international audiences and in Hollywood for his role in the 2005 film Syriana. Other prominent roles include a Yemeni sheikh called Muhammad in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Pierre Del Rio in Luc Besson's Lucy and Farouk Hassan in Ramy.
Lust is a 2010 Egyptian drama film directed by Khaled El Hagar. The film was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist. Lust was also reviewed at the 34th Cairo Film Festival. In the Arab world of film production, it is the oldest annual cinema event. According to Daily News, “Lust” is an interesting and provocative contribution to this year’s festival." The Executive Producer Producer of Lust was Amr El Safie while Dima Al-Joundi, and Mohamed Yassine produced it.
Tamer El Said is an Egyptian filmmaker. He wrote, produced and directed numerous films including Take Me (2004), an award-winning documentary about five friends who unwittingly became political prisoners in Morocco, and the short film On a Monday (2005) on an old married couple who rediscover their relationship. His first fiction feature In the Last Days of the City was shot in Cairo, Berlin, Baghdad and Beirut and premiered in 2016 at the Berlin International Film Festival. He is co-founder of several independent initiatives in Cairo, including Cimatheque Alternative Film Centre, Mosireen, and Zero Production.
A growing number of film festivals are held in the Arab world to showcase films from the region as well as international standouts. In addition, institutions and organizations in other parts of the world are increasingly honoring the new generation of filmmakers in the Arab world with Arab film festivals.
The Cairo International Women's Film Festival or CIWFF is an independent initiative dedicated to introducing films directed by women from around the world—not necessarily addressing women's issues—to explore the perspectives of female filmmakers.
Night/Ext is a 2018 Egyptian drama film directed by Ahmad Abdalla. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. Sherif Desoky won the award for Best Actor at the 40th Cairo International Film Festival for his role in the film.
The 36th Cairo International Film Festival was held from November 9–18, 2014, including 17 films from ten Arab countries. Six films featured were nominated for the 87th Academy Awards the following year. The jury included four male and four female filmmakers representing the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe as well as the disciplines of direction, screenwriting, production, cinematography, and criticism, headed by Egyptian actress Yousra.
Sameh Alaa is an Egyptian film director. Born in Cairo, he studied at Cairo University, before moving to Europe. In 2020, he became the first Egyptian director to have a film screened in the Short Film Competition section at the Cannes Film Festival. His film, I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face, won the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, making it the first Egyptian film to achieve this honor. In June 2021, he was named one of the six jury members for the Cinéfondation and Short Films section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Diamand Abou Abooud is a Lebanese actress, working in Europe and the Arab world, specifically Lebanon and Egypt.
Arzé is a 2024 Lebanese comedy-drama directed by Mira Shaib in her feature directorial debut. The film stars Diamand Abou Abboud, Betty Taoutel, and Bilal Al Hamwi.
Mira Shaib is a Lebanese filmmaker known for Arzé, which had its North America premiere in Tribeca and was selected in the Main Competition of the 45th Cairo International Film Festival, but the festival was canceled due to the Israel–Hamas war.
