In 1925, the Italian-produced "In Tutankhamun's City" appeared, but the first authentic Egyptian films also appeared in the mid-1920s: one based on the first authentic Egyptian novel "Zaynab;" the other, "Layla" produced and co-directed by the Egyptian actress Aziza Amir.

The advent of sound changed the whole picture, especially in Egypt, which then started industry production of films. With sound, one could present one's own culture via music. This coincided with the, Egyptian music boom in which singers such as Umm Kulthum and Abdel Wahab were already known throughout the Arab world thanks to records.

Arab cinema boomed and Egypt became a film leader. But it was not just because of the musical. Nationally oriented Egyptian businessmen put money into cinema production. This didn't occur elsewhere because of colonial constraints and economic reasons.

Largely as a result of colonialism, there was no native film industry in other Arab countries, despite attempts. In North Africa, a colonial film industry was started, based mainly in Casablanca. It produced nearly 200 films, but only a few, perhaps six, starred Arabs. Some were meant to compete with Egyptian films; they didn't succeed .

It was with national independence (Syria and Lebanon in the '40s, and North Africa in the '50s and early '60s) that most other Arab countries, except the Gulf states, truly entered the film scene. This era could be called the Third Period of Arab Film production.

During this period, nationalist- and socialist-oriented governments tried to establish film productions in order to confirm national identity on screen. This was most notable in Syria, Algeria and Tunisia.

Arab cinema's fourth period began in the '80s when states started to withdraw from production. The Algerian film industry went bankrupt, while the Egyptian had major financial problems, owing millions of dollars. Films in North Africa, Syria and especially Lebanon began to be mainly co-produced with the west. France, as part of French hegemonial aspirations, is again trying to spread "francophonie" in North Africa by financing films there; it has even financed films in Egypt.

In Egypt, where there has been an economic crisis and strong competition from the TV boom, production has fallen from 76 films a year to six, with an average of eight to 15 films a year over the past few years.

And this is where Arab cinema now stands. Looking at Arab cinema, there are many, many excellent works, but only one film, Muhammad Lakhdar-Hamina's Algerian epic "Chronicle Of the Years Of Embers" has received true international recognition.

The Notion Of Authorship

The notion of authorship is critical in Arab cinema, and in its history, Arab cinema has been enriched by many significant and vital filmmakers. In Egypt during the '30s and '40s, the names that stand out are Muhammad Karim and Ahmed Bedrakhan for musicals and Togo Mizrahi for comedy. After this period, Egypt's main names in film are: Henri Barakat for commercial productions; Sharia Abu Salaam for art films; and Youssef Chahine, Salah Abou Seif and Tewfiq Saleh for realism.

Realism was the phenomenon of the '50s, but in Egypt only one or two films a year were produced that could be called realist. However they were very strong as Egyptian realism was very much connected to Egypt's great writer Naguib Mahfouz, who influenced both Abou Seif and Saleh. Looking at his prodigious amount of screenplays and screen-adapted books, Naguib Mahfouz could also be considered an Arab film author.

In other Arab nations, there are also a number of distinguished film authors. From Syria: Nabil al-Maleh, Muhammad Malas, Usama Muhammad, Dughri Laham and Samia Muzikhor. From Tunisia: Najia Binmabruk (who produced one of the most beautiful Arab films on women, 'Samah'), Omar Khlefi and Ferid Boughedir (his films "A Summer in La Goulette" and 'Halfaoiune, Boy of the Terraces" were very well received at the Centennial film festival). From Algeria: Muhammad Lakhdar-Hamna, Ahmed Rachidi, Merzak Allouache and Farouk Beloufa, who produced just one film, the classic 'Nah' la."

Seeing the works of such authors, we must expect more brilliant Arab films and a continuation. A major problem though, for Arab films has been distribution and the lack of strong markets. If this changes, more Arab films should get the recognition they deserve. Meanwhile, satellite TV repeats old films over and over again. At one point, they will finish them up, and the realization will be: "We must invest in new films."

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