Cinema Industry
Cinemas
Between the fact by now universally acknowledged that in 1896, “only a few months after the first screening in Europe had taken place, films by the Lumière Brothers soon found their way to Egyptian audiences in Alexandria” (Shafik, p. 10), and the perception of that special historical event seen in perspective and retrospect, there falls a certain shadow. Blurred by short memory and unrecorded history, a period fraught with events and rich in promise, is all too often buried in full glory, and the impact of the facts remains an understatement. More...
Studios
The first studios in Egypt were established in Alexandria. The managers and owners of those studios were artists who usually took part in the making of the films produced in their studios; they acted, directed and supervised the technical and artistic aspects of their productions. A studio, in its earliest form in Egypt, was the embodiment of the whole cinematic industry. It was the space for creation and the realization of the imagination, a school for artistic technicians. It had all the makings of a production company. Every studio had its own staff of technicians who were pioneers in their different specializations. More...
Production & Distribution Companies
Given the entertainment value of the medium and the audience niche yet to grow accustomed to the nascent form, and long before any claim to the status of Art, seventh as it emerged to be, or otherwise, films and the making thereof were primarily a profitable adventure into the world of business. More...
Cinematographic Institute
Mohamed Bayoumi's aim was to safeguard the cinema industry in Egypt by equipping Egyptians with the necessary knowledge that would enable them to take cinema into their own hands. That is why he founded the Egyptian Cinematographic Institute in 1932 in 39 Missalla St. in Alexandria. It is worth noting that the Egyptian Cinematographic Institute is the first cinema institute to be founded in Egypt. More...
