The state-owned General Authority for Cultural Palaces has recently released the book “Jews and cinema in Egypt and the Arab world” by critic Ahmed Raafat Bahgat, to tackle the role of Jewish cinema makers and artists in the Egyptian and Arab cinema.
In its first chapter, the 490-page book discusses the Egyptian film industry in the context of a monopoly and the beginning of domination, studios, domestic production and distribution of foreign films.
Later, the book deals with artists and technicians, Jewish Egyptian cinema makers, their styles, the press and journalists at the time, and the relation between cinema and the Jewish left in Egypt.
The book also views Jewish characters in Egyptian movies through the first half of the 20th century, pre-1967 war between Egypt and Israel, post October 1973 war, and normalization later on.
The final chapter of the book discusses Jews and Judaism is relation to cinema in both Palestine and Iraq.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
