Understanding the Public Sector in Egyptian Cinema: A State Venture: Cairo Papers in Social Science Vol. 35, No. 3

Public and government attitudes to the role of the public sector in Egyptian cinema

In 1957 the public sector in Egyptian cinema was established, followed shortly by the emergence of public-sector film production in 1960, only to end eleven years later, in 1971. Assailed with negativity since its demise, if not earlier, this state adventure in film production was dismissed as a complete failure, financially, administratively and, most importantly, artistically. Although some scholars have sporadically commented on the role played by this sector, it has not been the object of serious academic research aimed at providing a balanced, nuanced general assessment of its overall impact.

This issue of Cairo Papers hopes to address this gap in the literature on Egyptian cinema. After discussion of the role played by the public sector in trying to alleviate the financial crisis that threatened the film industry, this study investigates whether there was a real change in the general perception of the cinema, and the government’s attitude toward it, following the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Tamara Maatouk is a history PhD student at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, with a focus on the modern Middle East. She is interested in both the interpenetration between Egyptian cinema and twentieth-century politics as well as the use of films as a serious vehicle for understanding, conceptualizing, and reconstructing the past.