Youssef Chahine
| Youssef Chahine | |
|---|---|
Youssef Chahine
|
|
| Born |
Youssef Gabriel Chahine 25 January 1926 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Died | 27 July 2008 (aged 82) Cairo, Egypt |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Occupation | Film director, Actor, Writer and Producer. |
Youssef Chahine (Arabic: يوسف شاهين; 25 January 1926 – 27 July 2008) was an Egyptian film director, he was active in the Egyptian film industry from 1950 until his death. A winner of the Cannes 50th Anniversary Award (for lifetime achievement), Chahine was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif. A critically acclaimed director frequently seen in film festivals during the earlier decades of his work, Chahine reached wider international audiences as one of the co-directors of 11'9"01 September 11.
Chahine was born in Alexandria, Egypt to a Roman Catholic family. His father was an attorney from Assiut, Egypt and was a supporter of the nationalist Wafd Party. In 2001, his mother, Claire Bastorous was a tailor. Although Chahine was raised Catholic, he was not a believer in organized religion. If asked of his religion, he would state, "Egyptian". At home, the Chahines spoke five languages, which was common in cosmopolitan Alexandria at the time.
Fascinated by the performing arts from an early age, young Chahine began to create shows at home for his family. Chahine began his education at a Frères' school Collège Saint Marc. Growing up, he attended Alexandria's elite Victoria College. In 1946, Chahine convinced his parents to let him travel to Hollywood to study acting, where he attended the Pasadena Playhouse outside Los Angeles, California.
After returning to Egypt, he turned his attention to directing. Cinematographer Alvise Orfanelli helped Chahine into the film business. Chahine directed his first feature film in 1950, Baba Amin (Daddy Amin) at the age of 23, two years before the revolution of 1952 that saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the rise of the charismatic leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. One year later, with Nile Boy (1951) he was first invited to the Cannes Film Festival. Sira’ fi-l-Wadi (The Blazing Sun, 1954) 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.
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