With a career spanning 58 years and more than 40 films, Chahine is considered as one of the most prolific and relevant film directors of the MENA region.
In its first edition, Hurghada International Youth Film Festival will spotlight the works of emerging Arab filmmakers from September 21 to September 27, according to a report by Cairo Scene.
Youssef Chahine, one of Egypt’s most renowned filmmakers, will be honored at the festival by showing his extensive filmography to festival participants.
Chahine directed his first feature film in 1950, Baba Amin (Daddy Amin) at the age of 23, two years before the Egyptian revolution of 1952. One year later, with Nile Boy (1951) he was first invited to the Cannes Film Festival. Sira’ fi-l-Wadi (Struggle in the Valley) introduced Omar Sharif to the cinematic screen. In 1970 he was awarded a Golden Tanit at the Carthage Film Festival for al-Ikhtiyar (The Choice). With The Sparrow (1973), in which he showed his political opinions after the Six-Day War with Israel, he directed the first Egypt–Algeria co-production.
He won the Cannes Festival’s 50th Anniversary Prize for lifetime achievement in 1997. Ten years later, he won a second-lifetime achievement award at the Dubai international film festival. He died in 2008 at the age of 82.
A well-regarded director with critics, he was often present at film festivals during the earlier decades of his work.
As part of the Hurghada Youth International Film Festival, several short and feature film competitions will be held, as well as a competition for film students from across Egypt. There will also be an award for films tackling climate change, titled The Green Award.
The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Red Sea Governorate.
Also on the schedule is a panel discussion featuring Egyptian stars Chahine discovered along the way, including Khaled El Nabawy, Hani Salama, Youssra El Lozy, Ruby, and many others.
