SHAFIKA AND METWALI
Genre
Running time
178 minutes
Year
1978
Language
Arabic
Subtitle
English
Country
Egypt
Director
Ali Badrakhan
Bio
Producer
Jean Khoury
Cast
Soad Hosni, Ahmed Mazhar, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Ahmed Zaki, Gameel Rateb, Malek Gamal, Younis Shalabi, Mahmoud El Gendi, Abdel Wares Asr, Shafik Galal, Naema El Saghira
Scriptwriter
Salah Jaheen
SHOWTIME
Sat
07.
Dec
Culture Square - Cinema 2
9:00 PM - 12:08 AM
Price: 40 SAR
Chosen by festival Honoree guest Mona Zaki, who is fascinated by the iconic Egyptian actress Souad Hosni.
Drawing on a folk tale about a young man who murders his wayward sister, Ali Badrakhan gave the traditional story a new timeframe and socio-political twist, creating a work of art in the process. Metwally is a villager forced by the authorities to work as a labourer on the Suez Canal project, leaving his sister Shafiqi (Souad Hosni) alone and destitute. When he eventually returns, he discovers that his sister has succumbed to the attentions of the district chief’s son, dishonoring the family, and kills her. The original story saw him as justified, but Badrakhan gives it another twist to show both brother and sister as victims of an oppressive social system. The film was an immediate success; it remains a beloved classic.
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