Born in Alexandria in 1926, Youssef Chahine was a pioneer Egyptian filmmaker with a long illustrious career. Making 42 films he began his career during the Golden Age of cinema in 1950 with Daddy Amin, working through to his last film, Is This Chaos...? in 2007. His films range from dramas, musicals, historical epics, biographical tales and all are infused with his distinctive viewpoint. Chahine most famously ...
I make films first for myself, then for my family, then for Alexandria, then for Egypt… If the Arab world likes them, ahlan wa sahlan (welcome). If the foreign audience likes them, they are doubly welcome.
He was nominated for the Palme d'Or 3 times, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cannes Film Festival in 1997, won the Silver Bear in 1979 for Alexandria...Why?, and received an honorary BAFTA in 2008 for his contribution to film.
We are shining a spotlight on some of his earlier work on SBS On Demand, with a collection of six classic Youssef Chahine films now streaming.
Youssef Chahine's first feature film is a touching family comedy/drama. Set in 1950 Cairo, Amin is a simple employee who lives with his family of three, his wife Zahira, son Nabil and daughter Hoda. Amin’s friend Mabrouk convinces Amin to invest his life savings in a project, which he promises, will get him rich. Amin agrees but forgets to take a receipt. Amin suddenly dies and watches on from the after life.
This early Chahine film is part melodrama part musical and features Egyptian singer and superstar of her era, Leila Fourad. Fikria, a singer, is married to Farid, a man who is devoured by his passion for the game. While traveling by train, Fikira has an accident and injures herself. Once she has returned home, Fikria’s husband orders her to stay hidden so that he can get the insurance money needed to cover his gambling debts. This film is has it all - drama, deception, love, loss, lies, music numbers and gambling.
This swashbuckling epic features a very young Omar Sharif in his second ever feature film (his first being another Chahine film). It has a touch of 'Old Hollywood' and a bit of melodrama, but it's all incredibly fun with amazing sets. Essam is a young bedouin who discovers the tyranny of his tribe's ruler and decides to overthrow him. Using trickery, he sneaks into the royal court, gains the king’s trust and becomes his consultant. A gypsy falls in love with him but discovers he is in love with another woman and exposes him to the king.
Chahine's first full musical features superstars Farid al-Atrache (Egyptian-Syrian composer/singer/musician) and iconic actress and singer Shadia. Chahine directs another hybrid production set against the backdrop of a terminally ill marine sergeant who falls in love with his nurse. This largely forgotten musical melodrama is another demonstration of Chahine’s versatility and his disregard for genre rules. The film contains one of the most inventive duets in the history of Egyptian cinema.
Farid al-Atrache and Shadia were busy in 1957 because they also star in this film which is one of the funniest and most beloved of all Egyptian film musicals, this is Chahine at his lightest and most entertaining. A satire of sorts about a man and woman forced into a marriage of convenience by their families, but they can't stand each other. But conniving together as they do to dupe their families, they end up falling in love. This is the work of a supreme entertainer, a key characteristic of Chahine’s filmmaking persona which can be overlooked by critics.
Our first and only film in colour. This film tells the story of an older upper – class Egyptian woman who falls in love with a young working – class student. Chahine depicts obstacles as well as possibilities in the post – revolution movement and its aspirations to modernise social and economic relations. The main moral of this movie is explained in its own name: “Tomorrow, there is a new dawn”, so, never loose faith in life.
Explore more films and TV series to celebrate Eid with the at SBS On Demand. is also available and contains the best of SBS On Demand in spoken Arabic or with Arabic subtitles.
