1.
Ahmed Zaki (actor)
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Ahmed Zaki Metwally Badawi was a leading Egyptian film star. He was characterised by his talent, skill and ability in impersonating and he was also famous for his on-screen vehemence, often genuinely hitting co-stars during scenes of violence. He is widely regarded as the greatest and most talented male star in the history of Arabian cinema, Ahmed Zaki was born in the city of Zagazig, about 50 miles north of Cairo, Egypt. He graduated from Zagazigs Crafts School in 1967, and then traveled to Cairo to study cinema before he graduated from the Cairo Higher Institute for Drama Studies in 1974. For 30 years, Ahmed Zaki impressed his audiences by playing comic, romantic and tragic roles in theater, cinema and he was considered a super star among his generation. Such impersonation was Zakis favourite hobby, and it was a skill he developed over time, people in the street often hailed him as Sbel, in reference to his role in the classic comedy play Madrast Al-Mushaghebeen. He made his first film, Abnaa Elsamt, in 1974, by 1980 he had made six films, including with Egypts best known director, Yusuf Shahin. Zaki appeared in more than 60 films throughout his career, many of his films were written by screenwriter Wahid Hamed and had a strong political message that exposed governmental and police corruption. He also starred in the famous 1980s television comedy musical series Howa we Heya with actress Souad Houssni, Zaki also starred in a series of successful action movies during the mid-and late-1990s. Two of his greatest successes were playing Egypts presidents in two movies that became landmarks of Arabic cinema. The movie depicted 40 years of the presidents life. He also had plans to play president Hosni Mubarak in a third movie and he is also known for portraying prominent characters in Egyptian history like Taha Hussein. Zaki was seen as an icon and spokesperson for the average Egyptian youth, the two starred together in two movies several years earlier. He was a heavy smoker. A book about Zaki has been released under the title of “Ahmad Zaki wa Symphoniet Ibda’”, the book features details of his acting career and includes a compilation of articles by different critics including Tareq Al Shinawi, Mohammad Al Shafe’ee and Waleed Saif. 1974 Abnaa Al-Samt 1978 El Omr Lahza 1978 Iskanderia
2.
Soad Hosny
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Soad Hosny was an Egyptian actress born in Cairo. She was known as the Cinderella of Egyptian cinema and one of the most influential actresses in the Middle East and she ascended to stardom at the end of the 1950s, performing in more than 83 films between 1959 and 1991. A majority of her films were shot in the 1960s and 1970s and her final screen appearance was in the 1991 film, The Shepherd and the Women, directed by her ex-husband, Ali Badrakhan. Soad Muhammad Kamal Hosny was born in Bulaq, Cairo, one of three born to Mohammad Hosni and his wife, Jawahara. Her parents divorced and her mother remarried, to Abdul Monem Hafedh, with whom she had six children, thus giving Soad. Najat Al Saghira, one of Hosnys half-siblings, was an actress, Hosnys final screen appearance was in 1991 in Al Rai We El Nissa. Soad Hosny was married four times, around 1968, she was married to cinematographer Salah Kurayyem, the marriage lasted for approximately one year. In 1970, Hosny was married to the Egyptian film director Ali Badrakhan and she was then married to Zaki Fateen Abdel-Wahab, son of Fateen Abdel Wahab and Leila Mourad in 1981. This marriage lasted five months. Hosny died after falling from the balcony of her home at Stuart Tower in London on June 21,2001 and her funeral in Cairo was attended by some 10,000 people. She had no children and was survived by her widower, her last husband, writer Maher Awad, in 2013, Lebanese filmmaker Rania Stephan used snippets from Hosnys films to re-tell Hosnys story and the history of Egyptian cinema in The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosny. It was featured in Berlins Art Week, ashraf Gharib,2001, Soad Hosni, Al-Hulm Al-Dai Mohamed Soweid,2004, Cabaret Suad, Beirut, Dar al-Adab Soad Hosny at the Internet Movie Database. Zouzou Profile, ElCinema. com, accessed January 26,2015. Souad Hosny dies in London after struggling with disease, aawsat. com Movies or series featuring actresses portraying Soad Hosny on YouTube Cites 1942 as year of birth
3.
Yousra
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Yousra is an Egyptian actress and singer. Her birth name is Civene Nassim, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation and she is the sister-in-law of actor Hesham Selim, son of famous Egyptian football player, actor and former president of Al Ahly, Saleh Selim. Yousra is considered as an icon for the Middle East and is an influential voice in the region. She first appeared in the 1980 film Athkiya Laken Aghbiya, then she has done many different roles with many different looks. She has done comedy, drama and entertainment, later, Adel Emam and Yousra worked together in three different movies, Al Mansi, Al Irhab Wal Kabab, and Toyour Al Zalam. In all three movies comedy was used to deliver a political message to great critical and public acclaim. A very important milestone in Yousra’s career was working with the famous Egyptian director Youssef Chahine and she acted in Chahine’s Hadduta Masreya in 1982, Iskanderiya Kaman we Kaman in 1990, and Al Mohager in 1994. Yousra was very impressed with Chahine’s work, stating, “Youssef Chahine affected me on a personal and professional level and he is a school for anyone who works with him. ”She has made a number of the serial television dramas popular during Ramadan, including 2005s Ahlam Adiya. In 2006, she took a role in The Yacoubian Building. The film is reported to have had the highest budget of any Egyptian production to date, playing an entertainer working in a restaurant, Youssra, according to Variety, effortlessly stirs old emotional waters when she sings La Vie en Rose. Youssra released her first vocal album in 2002 and her last work includes her role in the Ramadan Series Saraya Abdein 2014. Youssra has received over 50 awards in recognition for her work as a UNDP goodwill ambassador, moreover, the Coptic Orphans, non-profit organization founded in 1989 and based in Merrifield, Virginia, has thanked Youssra for contributing their time and effort in helping the children. She and Omar Sharif initially staged a protest against Algeria after Algeria accused Egypt of misconduct during the Algeria-Egypt football match, Youssra at the Internet Movie Database The Yacoubian Building at the Tribeca Film Festival Marefa - Yosras biography Yousras Facebook page
4.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
5.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
