Soad Muhammad Kamal Hosny was an Egyptian actress. She was known as the "Cinderella of Egyptian cinema" and one of the most influential actresses in the Middle East and the Arab world.
Music has been an integral part of Egyptian culture since antiquity in Egypt. Egyptian music had a significant impact on the development of ancient Greek music, and via the Greeks it was important to early European music well into the Middle Ages. Due to the thousands of-years long dominance of Egypt over its neighbors, Egyptian culture, including music and musical instruments, was very influential in the surrounding regions; for instance, the instruments claimed in the Bible to have been played by the ancient Hebrews are all Egyptian instruments as established by Egyptian archaeology. Egyptian modern music is considered as a main core of Middle Eastern and Oriental music as it has a huge influence on the region due to the popularity and huge influence of Egyptian cinema and music industries, owing to the political influence Egypt has on its neighboring countries, as well as Egypt producing the most accomplished musicians and composers in the region, specially in the 20th century, a lot of them are of international stature. The tonal structure music in the East is defined by the maqamat, loosely similar to the Western modes, while the rhythm in the East is governed by the iqa'at, standard rhythmic modes formed by combinations of accented and unaccented beats and rests.
Mohamed Mounir is an Egyptian singer and actor, with a musical career spanning more than four decades. He incorporates various genres into his music, including classical Egyptian music, Nubian music, Blues, Jazz and Reggae. His lyrics are noted both for their philosophical content and for their passionate social and political commentary. He is affectionately known by his fans as "El King" in reference to his album and play "El Malek Howwa El Malek". Mounir's family is from Nubia, Southern Aswan, Egypt.
Hanan Tork is a retired Egyptian actress and ballerina. She was born as Hanan Hasan Abdelkrim Tork, and is credited as Hanan Tork. She has two brothers. Her father owned a factory for clothes.
Faten Ahmed Hamama was an Egyptian film and television actress and film producer. She was the first wife of Ezz El-Dine Zulficar. She made her screen debut in 1939, when she was only seven years old. Her earliest roles were minor, but her activity and gradual success helped to establish her as a distinguished Egyptian actress. Later revered as an icon in Egyptian cinema. In 1996, nine of the films she starred in were included in the Top hundred films in the history of Egyptian cinema by the cinema critics of Cairo International Film Festival.
Suzanne Saleh Mubarak is the widow of Egyptian former president Hosni Mubarak and was the First Lady of Egypt during her husband's presidential tenure from 14 October 1981 to 11 February 2011. She has served as Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and founded the Cairo Child Museum in collaboration with the British Museum.
Jannat Mahid, known by her stage name Jannat ; is a Moroccan-Egyptian singer and actress. She was born in Morocco and presently living and performing in Egypt. Jannat sings in Egyptian Arabic. She is one of the most prominent young female singers in the Arab world. Jannat participated for the first time in a singing competition in Morocco entitled "Stars of Tomorrow" when she reached the age of eight. She stood on stage accompanied by a musical band and won the first prize. After that, she performed in local singing competitions. Upon reaching the age of fifteen, she participated in the Dubai Nights Festival and won the award for best singing voice in the Arab world in 2000. After that, she received an invitation from Mrs. Ratiba El-Hefny, director of the Cairo Opera House, to participate in a concert in the Grand Theater, and that was the first time that she stood in front of the Egyptian public.
The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled due to budget limitations and political instability. It is the only international competitive feature film festival recognized by the FIAPF in the Arab world and Africa, as well as the oldest in this category.
Nadia Lutfi or Nadia Lotfi, was an Egyptian actress. During the apex of her career, she was one of the most popular actresses of Egyptian cinema's golden age.
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.
Jocelyne Saab was a Lebanese journalist and film director. She is recognized as one of the pioneers of Lebanese cinema. A reporter, photographer, scriptwriter, producer, director, artist and founder of the Cultural Resistance International Film Festival of Lebanon, Saab focused on the deprived and disadvantaged – from displaced peoples to exiled fighters, cities at war and a Fourth World without a voice. Her work is grounded in historic violence, and in an awareness of the actions and images required to document, reflect on and counteract it.
Menna Shalabi, also spelled Shalaby, is an Egyptian actress.
Sherif Nour is an Egyptian composer. Brought up in Cairo, Nour studied at composition at Helwan University. He has composed for various television, radio serials and films, including providing music for 270 episodes of the Egyptian cartoon Bakaar.
Contemporary art in Egypt refers to visual art, including installations, videos, paintings, or sculptures, developed in the Egyptian art scene. While the contemporary art scene is mainly concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria, it is developing fast with the emergence of spaces for artists, and support from the public or from abroad. Many Egyptian artists use the Egyptian contemporary art scene as a ramp toward the international art scenes.
Ayten Amin is an Egyptian film director, writer, and producer. She began her career making documentary films during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and is best known for Souad, Villa 69, and Tahrir 2011: The Good, the Bad, and the Politician
The Collar and the Bracelet, or الطوق والسوار, is a 1986 Arabic dramatic thriller film directed by Khairy Beshara, written by Beshara and Yehia Azmi, and starring Sherihan, Abdullah Mahmoud, Ahmed Abdelaziz, Ahmed Bedir, Ezzat El-Alaili, Fardous Abdel Hamid, Hanan Youssef and Mohamed Mounir.
Nighat Chaudhry is a Kathak classical dancer who was born on 24 February 1959, in Lahore, Pakistan. She moved to London with her parents when she was one year old. She studied ballet and contemporary dance; but when she was 14, she met Nahid Siddiqui, one of the greatest Kathak dancers, and began training with her. Inspired to learn the classical forms of her own culture, she abandoned ballet. In order to understand and absorb the nuances of the Indian style, she wished to be closer to its origins; and she moved back to Pakistan. She eventually became a trained Sufi & Mystique Kathak classical dancer and has been active as a professional Kathak dancer for over three decades.
Ines Abdel-Dayem is an Egyptian flute player, the former Chairwoman of the Cairo Opera House and the former Minister of Culture of Egypt.
Sherine Adel, better known as Shery Adel, is an Egyptian actress. She began acting when she was a child in TV advertisements. Her first film role was in Friends or Business in 2001. She then acted in many movies such as: Outlaw in 2007, Hassan and Marcus in 2008, Amer Al-Behar in 2009 and A Bewildered Lovebird in 2010. She also acted in many series such as: King Farouk in 2007 as Narriman Sadek, Unknown Number in 2012, Temporary Name in 2013, and The Sin in 2014. She was labeled as Egyptian cinema chocolate.
Mohamed Hefzy, is an Egyptian film producer and screenwriter. One of the leading film producers in Middle East and Africa, Screen International named him as the only Arab among 30 future leaders in film production in 2013. In 2016, Hefzy was chosen by Variety on top of a list of "Ten names you need to know in the Arab Film Industry" and included him in the Variety 500.
