Film Society Festival Dedicates 50th Edition to Salah El Saadany and Essam El-Shamaa

The management of the annual Film Society Festival dedicating its 50th edition; “Golden Jubilee”, to late veteran actor Salah El Saadany and iconic director and screenwriter Essam El-Shamaa. 

The upcoming edition will be held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, with the support of Cultural Development Fund, during June (1-12), at Creativity Center, Cairo Opera House.

Festival’s chairman, director of cinematography Mahmoud Abdul Samie, stated that iconic actor Salah El Saadany will always be carved in the minds of cinema lovers through multiple prominent figures he presented in different films. 

He noted It is essential to honor his name and dedicate this edition to him, especially since he was honored in the thirty-fifth edition (2009), as one of the most prominent actors in Egyptian cinema and for his role in enriching the art of acting, as well as presenting numerous fabulous artistic works.

Abdul Samie added that late El Saadany won multiple awards throughout the Festival’s editions, including: a certificate of appreciation for acting from the tenth edition’s jury, headed by director Salah Abu Seif, for “Al Ghoul” (1984), and a special acting award in the fourteenth edition, headed by Salah Abu Seif, for his role in “For Lack of Evidence” as well as four films in which he starred were nominated for festival awards; Mohamed Fadel’s “Downtown Apartment”, and Yahia Al-Alami’s “the Sad Night Bird” (1978) in the fourth edition. He presented Youssef Chahine’s “the Sixth Day” (1987) in the thirteenth edition. Finally, he presented Asmaa Al-Bakry’s “Beggars and Noblemen” (1992) in the eighteenth edition. 

Abdul Samie also noted that director and screenwriter El-Shamaa was a psychiatry specialist, as well as a philosopher who has a unique vision in different artistic works and was a creative thinker who was concerned with different issues in Egypt and the Arab world.

He pointed out that he began his career with director Hany Lashin and world-renowned actor Omar El-Sherif through “the Puppeteer," which received multiple awards in the sixteenth Film Society Festival (1990). It received the best film award from the jury and audience. 

Regarding scenario and dialogue, one cannot forget “Kaboria” by late Ahmed Zaki, which was presented in a unique way and nominated to compete for the jury awards in the seventeenth edition (1991). 

Abdul Samie also mentioned that being a director distanced El-Shamaa from his work as an author. He presented few works, for he was selective, when it comes to what’s artistically presented to the audience. Thus, his works will remain immortal in the minds and hearts of the Egyptian and Arab audiences throughout the following years. He didn’t merely present works; he was keen on presenting works with great content and artistic value.