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Arab cinema or Arabic cinema (Arabic: السينما العربية, romanized: al-sīnemā al-ʿArabīyah) refers to the film industry of the Arab world. Most productions are from the Egyptian cinema.[2][3][4][5] Currently, the Middle East's largest cinema chain is Vox, owned by UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas.[6]
The first screening of a motion picture in Egypt occurred in Alexandria in 1896 by the French Lumière Brothers. The Egyptian industry developed from silent movies to talkies, with musicals being the bulk of the productions in the 1930s and 1940s.[7] The first Arab-produced film was Laila, released in Egypt in 1924,[8] while the first Arabic speaking film was Awlad El-Zawat, also released in Egypt in 1932.[9] Studio Misr, founded in 1935, was the first national studio of its kind in the Arab world.[10] The period from the late 1940s to 1960s has been described as "the golden age of Arab cinema", as Arab actors from across the Middle East headed to stardom in Cairo. During this period, notable actors included Hind Rostom, Roshdi Abaza, Mahmoud el-Meliguy, Anwar Wagdi, Fayrouz and Soad Hosny.[11] In the 1950s, Egypt's cinema industry was the world's third largest.[12] In 1976, the Cairo International Film Festival was established, becoming the first film festival to be held in the Arab world.[13] Egypt has also contributed to the action genre with actors such as Youssef Mansour who became famous in the 1990s for his martial arts films.[14][15]
The Egyptian-Jewish Frenkel brothers—Herschel, Shlomo, and David—are regarded as the pioneers of the art of animation in Egypt and the Arab world. Inspired by early American cartoons and silent comedies, they released their first animated film in 1936 titled Mafish Fayda.[16] The first Arabic-language animation series was Mishgias Sawah (1979), released in Egypt,[17] while the first feature-length Arab animated film is The Knight and the Princess, also released in Egypt in 2019.[18][19] The first television drama in the Arab world, Hareb Min el-Ayyam, was broadcast from Egypt in 1962 during Ramadan.[20] Often called the era of New Arab Cinema, during the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the influence of Italian realism and the response to political upheavals combined to create a body of independent Arab films that included traces of Arab melodrama. In 1972, the Kuwaiti drama film Bas ya Bahar became the first narrative feature film in the Gulf, and is considered one of the most important Arabic-language films in Arab filmmaking.[21]
Egypt’s domination of Arab cinema has been credited to its development of the dramatic arts, wealth of studios, experienced directors, technicians, film stars, singers and belly dancers.[22][23] Since the 2010s, a "new wave" of Arab cinema has included films that explore links with genre cinema – including fantasy, sci-fi and horror.[24][25] Since the Arab Spring, Arab films have also become more political.[26] In what has been described as a "vibrant new era" of Arab cinema, the 2020s has seen a growth in the Saudi film industry, with some stability in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.[27] The 2023 Saudi horror film, The Cello, is regarded as the first Arabic international horror film.[28] Also that year, Sukkar, backed by the Saudi-owned production house MBC Group, was touted as the Arab world's first musical movie in the Western canon.[29]
- ^ Hayon, Kaya Davies; Peer, Stefanie Van de (25 January 2024). Transnational Arab Stardom: Glamour, Performance and Politics. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-5013-9324-2.
- ^ Shafik, Viola (2007). Arab cinema : history and cultural identity (New rev. ed.). Cairo, Egypt: The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 978-9774160653.
- ^ "Learning About Arab Film and Cinema". Arab Film Festival. 29 July 2016.
- ^ Houissa, Ali. "LibGuides: Middle Eastern & North African Cinema & Film: Egyptian Cinema & Film". guides.library.cornell.edu. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ Shafik, Viola (2007). Popular Egyptian Cinema: Gender, Class, and Nation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-977-416-053-0.
- ^ "UAE's Vox Cinemas on walking the red carpet for two decades and more". 18 January 2020.
- ^ "The Golden Age of Egyptian Cinema…". 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Groundbreaking Arabic Movies and Television Shows". 9 May 2024.
- ^ "Memory of the day: "Awlad El-Zawat", the 1st Arabic speaking film, is released in 1932". 14 March 2022.
- ^ Hayon, Kaya Davies; Peer, Stefanie Van de (25 January 2024). Transnational Arab Stardom: Glamour, Performance and Politics. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-5013-9324-2.
- ^ "The Golden Age of Egyptian Cinema…". 12 April 2020.
- ^ "The influence of Egyptian cinema in the Arab World". 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Cairo International Film Festival".
- ^ "يوسف منصور: بطل عالمي بدأ حياته من «صندوق قمامة» (بروفايل)". 16 April 2024.
- ^ "فيديو| يوسف منصور.. لاعب "الكونغ فو" عاشق السينما". 16 April 2019.
- ^ https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/the-jewish-disney-family-of-egypt
- ^ "The Middle East, animated".
- ^ "Funding is key to future of animated feature films in Arab world | Saad Guerraoui". 5 December 2024.
- ^ "The First Feature-Length Arabic Animated Film, Master Class on "The Aesthetics of Sound in Cinema" and a Panel Discussion on "The Role and Impact of Film Festivals" on the Fifth Day of el Gouna Film Festival".
- ^ "From Haza al Masaa to Fawazeer: The best ever Ramadan TV series from across the Arab world".
- ^ "A Masterpiece Without an Audience: Khalid al Siddiq and the Gulf's First Narrative Feature Film". 27 March 2024.
- ^ Kuhn, Annette; Radstone, Susannah (January 1994). The Women's Companion to International Film. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-08879-5.
- ^ "Introduction to Egyptian Cinema". 9 February 2011.
- ^ "Arab and African Filmmakers Are Increasingly Focusing on Genre Films and Series". 8 December 2019.
- ^ "Arab Filmmakers Embrace Genre Films".
- ^ "How Arab cinema is making a name for itself at film festivals". Independent.co.uk. 29 September 2016.
- ^ "Cannes: Is Arab Cinema on the Cusp of a "New Golden Age"?". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Saudi horror film 'The Cello' premieres in Riyadh". 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Arabic-Language Musical Movie 'Sukkar' Set to Launch in Middle East Cinemas". 19 September 2023.