User:Mennaazzam/sandbox

Childhood/ Early life

Chahine had affectionate parents and had a strong relationship with both of them- even though his mother and father had distinct personalities. At a young age, he knew what he wanted to become. Chahine would stay under his bed and in his room for hours, picturing himself in the industry- whether in a projection theatre, a cinema hall or a production company.

When asked about his childhood and early interest in cinema, Chahine said:

''“ At the age of Eight, I discovered that 9.5mm films and projectors were being sold in stores. I saved from allowances enough to buy the projector and then became a regular for the Rabbani Bibi films. I used to gather the children of the neighborhood to show them these films. Some of them didn’t care for cinema and would come up with excuses not to attend. So I had no choice but to form a gang to beat up those who were late coming to the show.”''

In the following years, two concepts raged Chahine and gagged his interest: indulging in sexual fantasies and cinema. A few years later, Chahine dealt with the death of his brother Alfred, who was only two years older than him. Chahine always remembered Alfred’s eyes, which influenced his work. Most his male actors had eyes that resembled Alfred’s.

According to Chahine, his father was honest, which seeped into his values and was a trait he appreciated having. Along with honesty, Chahine’s father ignited his love for books. Being a lawyer, Chanie’s father could not keep up with the tuition bills, so he closed up his law office and took a job in the legal department in the Alexandria municipality so he could send Chahine to Victoria College. Another memory Chahine was fond of, was how his father took him to the desert, and taught him how to look for landmarks and find his way back home. Scouting for film locations often brought back these memories. Their home was aristocratic, even though they were not rich. They had to be well mannered, and mistakes had punishments(which usually meant having dinner alone in the kitchen rather than outside on the family table.) Despite them being tight on money, they would still have guests over for dinner and lived without paying much attention to bank statements. Undergraduate Education

After graduating from Victoria college in 1944, he was determined to go abroad to fulfill his passions. His parents refused, and tried to talk him out of him. They enrolled him in the college of Engineering at the University of Alexandria, but Chahine refused and later said that he had to “blackmail them, and almost jump out of the window.” He was later able to get what he wanted, and enrolled in the Pasadena PlayHouse, California- where he studied theatre and television, but not film. Out of the 200 students that attended, only thirteen took the final examination, and only four passed- Chahine ranking first.

After returning from Pasadena, Chahine didn’t work in Egyptian theatre or film. Instead, he worked in Twentieth-Century in FOX’s publicity department, where he worked with Gianni Vernuccio and Alvise Orfanelli. In one instance, a producer and a director had a quarrel, and the director walked off the set. The producer turned to Chahine to pick the film up, however, Chahine refused to complete someone else’s work. In another told instance, Chahine was offered the position of Assistant Director, which he also refused, stating that he was working on HollyWood theatres beforehand, and a Assistant Director role was not for him. Nominations and Awards (add to existing)

Cannes Film Festival Amiens International Film Festival Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema Carthage Film Festival Chicago International Film Festival Dubai International Film Festival Moscow International Film Festival Murex D'Or New York Film Festival Toronto International Film Festival Note to self: move word doc live

rearrange sections based on the cinema info u have

split films into political: post war era& historical fims

autobiography films Cinematic Style Politics

Saved sources:

The Arab national project in Youssef Chahine's cinema

Khouri, Malek

Cairo ; New York : American University in Cairo Press 2010

Youssef Chahine

Fawal, Ibrahim, 1933-

London : BFI Pub., 2001

Art and politics in the cinema of Youssef Chahine

Massad, J.

Journal of Palestine Studies, December 1999, Vol.28(2), pp.77-93

INTERVIEW WITH YOUSSEF CHAHINE

Chahine, Youssef ; Tournes, Andree

Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media, 1 April 1981, Issue, pp.11-11