Najdat Anzour | |
|---|---|
| Anzour in 2017 | |
| Speaker of the People's Assembly | |
| Acting 21 July 2017 –28 September 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Hadiya Khalaf Abbas (As Speaker) |
| Succeeded by | Hammouda Sabbagh (As Speaker) |
| Deputy Speaker of the People's Assembly | |
| In office 6 June 2016 –11 August 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Fahmi Hassan |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Akram al-Ajlani |
| Member of the People's Assembly | |
| In office 6 June 2016 –12 December 2024 | |
| Constituency | Aleppo City |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Najdat Ismail Anzour 26 November 1954 |
| Party | Independent |
| Education | University of Aleppo (BS) |
| Occupation | Television director |
| Website | Najdat Anzour's Homepage |
Najdat Ismail Anzour (Arabic :نجدتإسماعيلأنزور;born 26 November 1954) is a Syrian television and film director and politician. He served as Deputy Speaker of the People's Assembly from 2016 to 2020 and was an independent member of the Assembly from 2016 until 2024. [1] [2]
Najdat Anzour was born in Aleppo on 26 November 1954 into a Sunni Muslim family of Circassian descent. His father Ismail Anzour was the director of Taht sama'a Dimashq (translates to :Under Damascus Skies),Syria's first silent film,in 1932. Although Najdat graduated as a mechanical engineer,he credits his father for inspiring his career in film directing.
Najdat created TV ads (numbering over 1,000),and later went into TV series,then films.
On 6 June 2016,Anzour was elected as Deputy Speaker of the Syrian Parliament [3] together with Syria's first female Speaker of parliament,Hadiya Khalaf Abbas,Ph.D.,who was elected by the People's Assembly to head the parliament. [4] [5]
On 21 July 2017,Najdat was appointed as an interim Speaker of the Syrian parliament. [6]
Anzour directed over 20 TV series with a distinctive style. They are mostly set in an ancient era,in the Arabian desert or oases. The series has more realistic fighting scenes and much night shooting. They often tell the story of tribal conflicts,honor,romance,etc. Normally,his work is aired in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan,where TV viewing is at its peak in the Arab world.
Some of his recent films are aired by the Dubai based Middle East Broadcasting Corporation and aim to end the terrorism committed by Muslim extremists. Although his work is supported by many Muslims,others object to his vilification of terrorist actions .[ citation needed ]
Oppression:Years of Torment (Arabic:الظلم :سنواتالعذاب) is film whose production was due to start in 2008. The film is about the Libyan national hero Omar Al-Mokhtar,was written by Muammar Gaddafi,and was announced to be directed by Anzour. High-profile actors including Anthony Hopkins,Kevin Spacey and Ben Kingsley have been courted,albeit without any current confirmation. [10] [11] [12] At first Omar Sharif had been also announced to be in the cast playing Omar Al-Mokhtar. However,he withdrew later stating that he had other engagements as a pretext. [13] The shooting of the film was announced to start on the Italian Tremiti islands on 14 April 2008 for 6 days [14] ,which is the same islands many Libyans where deported to during the Italian occupation of Libya. There are no recent indications,however,that filming ever commenced,and it appears that the project may be on hold.