The venerable Studio Misr now faces the uncertainties of privatization, which could endanger the future of the beloved Egyptian institution. A lien on the studio’s properties was declared and an auction date has been set for Monday, 19 July.
Founded by nationalist economist Talaat Harb in 1935, Studio Misr was owned by Banque Misr until it was nationalized in 1960. For decades, it represented a hub of cinematic creativity and a prime setting for many of Egypt’s film classics.
In 2000, the Egyptian Company for Cinema Production and Distribution rented Studio Misr to the El-Exeer company, using a right-to-use contract valid for 20 years. The move was regarded by many as highly controversial, since, according to opponents, the coupling of the time-honored cultural institution with the business sector rather than the Ministry of Culture paved the way for the “privatization of culture.”
Unpredictably, El-Exeer–which is owned by two Egyptian producers and directors, Karim Gamal el-Din and Raafat el-Mihi, both known for their genuine enthusiasm and long history in the cinema industry–did an excellent job. Confronted with the horrible condition of Studio Misr, where ramshackle walls encased outdated facilities and appliances, the company promptly began a structural restoration process.
Rebuilding the sewage system, upgrading the water drainage system, and developing the studio’s processing laboratories were only some of the restorations carried out by the company at a total cost of around LE60 million, according to Studio Misr Manager Mohamed Samir.
In spite of this progress, in 2001, studio employees–who had been transferred from their governmental positions to the renting company–staged their first sit-in. They called for taking their bonuses out of the company’s revenues, despite the hefty losses sustained by El-Exeer owing to the expensive restoration process.
Employees continued to escalate their complaints until, in 2010, a Giza court granted 82 employees and managers at Studio Misr some LE676,000 in back pay.
Nevertheless, company management refused to comply with the verdict, claiming that payment–which it considered a bonus from company revenue–was illegal before the company had even begun to collect any profits, according to Sayed Ibrahim, El-Exeer legal department manager.
Ibrahim emphasized to an Egyptian newspaper that the company paid employees’ salaries on a regular basis. However, he added, the company was still recording losses of around LE40 million per year while continuing to fund the restoration and development of the studio.
Consequently, studio units are now scheduled to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Workers and managers addressed the Minister of Investment, the chairman of the Egyptian Company for Sound and Light and Cinema, and the Minister of Labor and Immigration, asking them to intervene in their negotiations with El-Exeer.
The government, for its part, is now reconsidering its next move in what has become an extremely complicated situation.
“Gamal el-Din and el-Mihy made a heroic effort, but eventually fell prey to the deception and extortion by some traders who have no associations with cinema or culture whatsoever,” lamented director Mohamed Kamel el-Kaliouby. El-Kaliouby believes that the Egyptian Company for Sound and Light and Cinema is a parasitic structure that has a rapacious influence on the Egyptian cinema industry under the banner of investment.
“They can never understand that culture is a priceless strategic investment in human beings; they don’t understand the role of cinema in the advancement of nations. They are only interested in transforming films produced by Studio Misr into goods for purchase,” el-Kaliouby added.
Egyptian film critic Samir Farid views the recent events as an underhanded means of putting the studio up for sale. Farid told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he feared the consequences of selling the studio without guarantees to preserve its function.
“Studio Misr, when it opened in 1935, was the first comprehensive cinema studio in Africa and the Middle East,” he said. “It worked as an academy that constantly provided Egypt with great filmmakers like Salah Abu-Seif and Kamal el-Sheikh.”
Studio Misr became a public-sector foundation after producing 182 Egyptian feature films before 1960. In 1980, the studio’s ownership was transferred to the High Council of Culture under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture. In 1994, the management of Studio Misr was handed over to the state-run Holding Company for Housing, Tourism and Cinema under the Ministry of Investment.
“There is an irrational impunity that dominates the investment apparatus,” said el-Kaliouby. “They nationalized the civic entities in the 1960s, and now they want to invade the box office and make more money after the restoration by El-Exeer.”
He added: “If they had good intentions, they would find a way to reschedule the company’s debts, but they just want to generate profits no matter what.”
