Programme 3
Youssef Chahine (1926–2008), the acclaimed Egyptian film director, is one of the few Arab filmmakers to gain international recognition. In his more than 40 films, including dramas, comedies and musicals, he addressed issues of power, social oppression, corporate and political corruption, nationalism and religious fundamentalism.
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Chahine's death, three of his restored films, each from a different decade, will be screened in collaboration with The Africa Institute at Africa Hall. Programmed by Hind Mezaina, these films will be shown in three separate programmes.
Cairo Station
Director: Youssef Chahine
Cast: Youssef Chahine, Hind Rostom, Farid Shawki
Egypt
Narrative | 73 min
Arabic with English subtitles
Chahine plays a disabled news vendor whose obsession with a beautiful young lemonade stand vendor leads to violence. Cairo Station marked a new approach to Egyptian cinema in the 1950s, tackling controversial subject matter and drawing on formal and thematic elements from both neo-realism and German expressionism.