Author: Essam Zakaria

How Daoud Abdel Sayed balanced philosophical depth with popular appeal across a four-decade career. The late Egyptian director Daoud Abdel Sayed left behind a small but influential body of work that stands apart in Egyptian cinema for its philosophical depth, poetic style, and willingness to challenge conventions. Though he made only ten narrative films over four decades, each bears his distinctive artistic signature, blending social realism with surrealist elements and infusing popular genres with literary sensibility. Abdel Sayed (1946-2020) was part of a generation of Egyptian filmmakers who emerged in the 1970s and 80s, bringing European arthouse influences to a…

Those who follow cinema news know that the film “Happy Birthday” by director Sarah Gohar premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in the US last May, where it won three awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay in the international competition and the Nora Ephron Award for Best Women’s Film.

The apology issued by the management of the Zawya cinema for the behavior of some of its employees toward a young director who decided to protest alone in front of the cinema is perhaps one of the best examples of good behavior we have seen in our artistic and cultural life recently. Violence and “rudeness” have become a way of life in our society, to the point that one is surprised to find someone apologizing to another or to see civilized behavior from someone, as if it were something unexpected and rare.