Youssef Chahine (World Directors) - Softcover

Ibrahim Fawal

9780851708584: Youssef Chahine (World Directors)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0851708587 ISBN 13: 9780851708584

Publisher: British Film Institute, 2001

A discussion of the frequently controversial film maker Youssef Chahine. The book aims to illuminate Chahine's work in the context of modern Egyptian culture and its tumultuous post-war history and how such films as 'Cairo Station' (1958), 'The Earth' (1959) and 'The Sparrow' (1973) dramatized the dilemmas of ordinary Egyptians. He also argues that Chahine's intensely autobiographical trilogy 'Alexandria...Why?' (1978), 'An Egyptian Story' (1985) and 'Alexandria...More and More' (1989) spoke to the concerns of the broader Egyptian intelligentsia amongst whom he has earned the reputation of being the 'poet and thinker' of modern Arab cinema. The final analysis of the book argues that Chahine's work stands comparison with directors such as Fellini, Bergman, Kurosawa or Sembene but also emphatically draws strength from its links with one of the most vibrant popular cinemas of the world and from the roots and traditions of popular Arabic culture.

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Synopsis:

A filmmaker of truly international renown and the recipient of the Cannes Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award, Youssef Chahine is the director of one of the most diverse and prestigious bodies of work of any living director. Born in Alexandria in 1926, the cosmopolitan Chahine embodies the preoccupations of his native Egypt in a career (still continuing) which has ranged from social realism to autobiographical fantasy, from historical epics to musicals, and has spanned over fifty years from 1950 to the present day. In writing this book, Ibrahim Fawal draws on his unique qualifications as an Arab-American whose native language is Arabic, and as a film practitioner and educator. His discussion of the frequently controversial filmmaker illuminates Chahine's work in the context of modern Egyptian culture and its tumultuous post-colonial history and how such films as Cairo Station (1958) and The Earth (1969) dramatized the dilemmas of ordinary Egyptians.He also demonstrates how Chahine's intensely personal autobiographical trilogy: "Alexandria...Why? (1978), "An Egyptian Story" (1985) and "Alexandria...More and More" (1989) spoke to the concerns of the broader Egyptian intelligentsia amongst whom he has earned the reputation of being 'poet and thinker' of modern Arab cinema.

In the final analysis, Fawal argues that Chahine's work stands comparison with the directors such as Fellini, Bergman, Kurosawa, and Sembene but also emphatically draws strength from its links with one of the most most vibrant popular cinemas of the world and from the roots and traditions of popular Arabic culture.

About the Author:

Ibrahim Fawal is a full time writer, teacher and novelist based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.

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