When it comes to filmmakers who truly changed cinema, John Cassavetes (1929-1989) undoubtedly ranks among them. Unlike those larger-than-life masters, his greatness lies in his ‘smallness’ – with a low budget, he pioneered independent cinema in America; and with an unadorned lens, he captures the profound ‘small emotions’ of ordinary people.
The son of Greek immigrants, Cassavetes empathised with those marginalised by society, searching for identity, love and definition. Starting out as an actor, he believed acting is merely a heightened form of social activity we pursue in our various transactions with the world. In 1959, he collaborated with pals to create his groundbreaking first feature – Shadows, which was declared a masterpiece of the ‘New American Cinema’ by Jonas Mekas.
Original unsold ads and postersBorn in Alexandria, Youssef Chahine (1926-2008) carried that port city’s exceptional cosmopolitanism in every fibre of his being: a great cinephile, he was always aware of the latest currents in world cinema, finding ways to adapt them for his very Egyptian films. As a teenager, Chahine dreamed he could learn to dance like Gene Kelly, and set his sights on going to the US. He was invited to an internship at the Pasadena Playhouse near Los Angeles.
Returning to Egypt after two years in Pasadena, Chahine decided to try his luck at breaking into Egypt’s then booming film industry. His first film, Baba Amin, proved a hit, and soon Chahine would be well ensconced in the industry, reliably turning out critical and box office successes. In The Blazing Sun, a steamy rural melodrama, he cast a new actor, Michel Dimitri Chalhoub, who took on the screen name Omar Sharif. The film was an enormous hit, launching Sharif onto what would become an international career.
Of the Arab nations spanning North Africa and reaching into the Middle East, Egypt has historically been the largest film producer. The country was the first to establish a national cinema, and by the late 1940s was pumping out comedies, musicals and melodramas that played across the region. But when other states won independence through the ’50s and ’60s, and with overseas support kicking in, film industries emerged in countries like Tunisia and Algeria too.
As production rose across the region, the pioneers of the New Arab Cinema busied themselves with bold and ambitious auteur-driven pictures. Some turned to neorealist and artistic studies of society, culture and identity, with films from Egypt like Youssef Chahine’s Cairo Station and Shadi Abdel Salam’s The Night of Counting the Years. The fights for independence would inspire many works, among them Algeria’s The Battle of Algiers by Gillo Pontecorvo and Chronicle of the Years of Fire by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina. Winning the top prize at Venice and Cannes film festivals respectively, the two films boosted the profile and showcased the power of Arab cinema in the international arena.
