
Acting
Faten Hamama
Born 1931-05-27 · El Mansoura, Egypt
Faten Hamama (May 27, 1931 - January 17, 2015) was an Egyptian actress and producer. Dubbed "The Lady of the Arabic Screen", she was born in El Mansoura, Egypt. Her legendary journey started as a secret statement between a six-year-old girl and her father after they watched a film in their neighborhood theater, at which leading actress and producer Asya Dagher was present. Faten told her father that she felt the audience was applauding her as the leading actress, and her father hugged her with a vision of helping his daughter become a movie star. She won a contest for the most beautiful child in Egypt, and her dad sent her picture to director Muhammad Karim (a pioneer of Egyptian cinema). Karim was looking for a child for his new film with Egyptian musician Mohamed Abdel Wahab. Faten auditioned for and got a role in this movie, Yom said (1940) ("A Happy Day"). She impressed the filmmakers so much during shooting that she was actually given more lines and scenes in the picture than were scripted initially for her. Karim put her under contract, and four years later he gave her a role in a film with Mohamed Abdel Wahab again, Russassa fil Kalb (1944) ("A Bullet in the Heart"). With her third movie with Karim, Dunia (1946), Faten showed filmmakers and audiences alike that she was an actress ready for bigger roles. Her father, along with her family, moved to Cairo to help her in her career. She also began studying her craft at the High Institute of Acting in 1946. Faten left Egypt from 1966-1971 because she resisted the political pressure that was applied to her. She divided her time between Lebanon and London, England. During this period Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser asked some prominent critics and writers to try to persuade her to return to Egypt, saying that "Faten Hamama is a national treasure". Her return to Egypt in 1971 breathed life back into Egyptian cinema. She insisted that her films reflect the values of society through family relationships. Her first film upon return was Witch (a short film) with Salah Zulfikar. Her role in Emberatoriet Meem (1972) ("Empire M") as a widow with six children and the struggles she endured to raise them made the film a success both critically and financially, and she earned a special award from an organization in the Soviet Union when the film was shown at the Moscow International Film Festival. Her film Orid Hallan (1975) ("I Need a Solution") which was produced by Salah Zulfikar was not only a big hit but resulted in changes to Egyptian marriage and divorce laws. Faten Hamama is the fourth Pyramid in Egyptian cinema, a legend in her platinum anniversary, the diamond that remained shining and kept glowing over the decades on the silver screen.
Acting credits
7.3Hamza "a member of the volunteer National Guard" meets up with the teacher Fawzya "Faten", after the fire of Cairo broke out, the British trying to capture all the volunteers in the National Guard , Hamza hiding in the house of one of his friend, and Fawzya help him, and she is trying to formation its own cell in order to hit the English forces in the Canal zone.
No Time for Love
1963
6.3Aisha is a widow with five children, Sana, Suad, Lamia, Asmaa and Noor. The eldest got married to Orabi the carpenter, and are living in the family's poor house. Orabi starts acting like he's the man of the house, and the other sisters try to find their way in life.
Bitter Day, Sweet Day
1988
8.5Faiza is raised in a family where the mother and the two sisters work in illegal acts. They try to drag her in with them but she refuses. She studies to become a school teacher and decides to move to the countryside away from them, but she finds other temptations that try to lure her in.
The Barred Road
1958
6.5Amal and her friend Fatima are happily in love with Ahmed and Dr. Mamdouh respectively. After it is discovered that Amal has a debilitating condition, her father attempts to keep it a secret.
Appointment with Life
1953
6.01950 Cairo, Amin is a simple employee who lives with his family of three, his wife Zahira, son Nabil and daughter Hoda. Amin’s friend Mabrouk convinces Amin to invest his life savings in a project, which he promises, will get him rich. Amin agrees but forgets to take a receipt. Amin suddenly dies and watches on from the after life.
Baba Amin
1950
6.9A wealthy landlord floods and destroys a village on purpose to prevent the people living there from making a profit off their crops. What he doesn't know is that his own daughter, Amal, is in love with Ahmed, a young man from the village.
The Blazing Sun
1954
7.0A family whose breadwinner dies, leaving his wife and university-student daughter in the care of his son from his first wife. He treats them harshly and wastes their money - especially his sister's money, as he is her guardian - on his own pleasures. The mother and daughter are led by a kind family that takes her by the hand and curbs the son's ambitions.
Orphans' money
1952
10.0Madbouly forces his daughter to sell lottery tickets in cafes, while her two brothers work in the field of pickpocketing. The wealthy Yahya meets Aisha and is sympathetic to her because he finds her very similar to the daughter he lost. The wealthy negotiates with Madbouly to take care of his daughter Aisha in his home and to educate and raise her in the best possible way. In exchange for a monthly salary.
Aisha
1953
7.2Hemaidah is a Farmer who hates country life. He hates working in fields and taking care of the animals in his farm. Though unsatisfied with her, he marries Zebeidah, a woman in the same village.
Son of the Nile
1951
6.5Ragab, a poor sailor, returns home to Alexandria after three years of absence, during which he tried to save money to marry his one true love, Hamedah. But there's trouble on the harbor, and with an old friend.
Struggle in the Harbor
1956
6.3Well off widow working Mother "Mona" is struggling raising 6 kids at different ages ranging from elementary school to University graduating students. The day she thinks to bring a new husband home proves to be a very difficult task.
Empire M
1972
7.0Khaled, a self-made university student, suffers from the treatment of his father, Abdel Aziz Bey, and the plots of his stepmother, Munira, and her ill-mannered sister, Fardous. However, he does not hesitate to strive for his future. Khaled stands against Rahmi Bey and opposes his resounding slogans and destructive opinions. This man who fights him and launches campaigns against him is the father of his beloved and university colleague, Suhair.
Towards glory
1948
7.5It is impossible to live between Doria and her diplomatic husband, Medhat, who asks him for a divorce, but he refuses. She is forced to go to court and file a divorce. Doria falls into the maze of the courts and is exposed to a series of problems and obstacles that undermine her dignity. Things get complicated when the husband comes with false witnesses testifying against her in secret. She loses her case after more than four years.
I Want a Solution
1975
6.8Nargis, a middle-aged woman, is preparing to leave Egypt for the United States to reunite with her grown children, who are mesmerized by the allure of the "Land of Dreams". However, as her departure draws near, she is plagued by deep reluctance and fear of leaving her life and identity behind.
Land of Dreams
1993
7.8This compelling tale of love and betrayal, set in the upper Egyptian countryside, follows the story of Amna as she plots her revenge on the engineer who destroyed her family's honor.
The Nightingale's Prayer
1959
NRThe trio of a Wife and her lover plotting a murder for her husband. Their maid gets into Jail instead of them. This maid had a daughter that gets to be raised by her friend. The wife gets into jail shortly after she was arrested for misusing the well of her son. In Jail she meets with her maid and confess to her with her sin that led to this destiny, then she dies. After twenty years she gets out of Jail to see what has the fate introduce to her daughter and the killers daughter that share same lover.
Punishment
1948
8.2Nahr el Hub is the Egyptian adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina".
The River of Love
1960
5.1An assortment of international criminals plans to steal priceless Egyptian artifacts from a Cairo museum. MGM remake of Asphalt Jungle set in Egypt.
Cairo
1963
6.3Spoiled rich girl Nadia gets jealous after finding out her father's plan to remarry. She tries to break them apart, spreading lies about her new mother-in-law and getting involved with a man twice her age.
Sleepless
1957
7.0A poor medical student, falls in love with her wealthy colleague who does not feel her at the beginning. He falls in love with her after he sees the sincerity of her feelings towards him, and asks her to marry him, but there are those who want to keep this marriage from happening
Ways of the Heart
1956
10.0Dunia meets the rich, frivolous young man, Mohamed. An illegitimate relationship develops between them and she becomes pregnant with his child. Mohamed disappears and she cannot face anyone with her child, so she decides to kill him. Her secret is revealed and she goes to prison. She decides to take revenge on him and searches for him until she finds him. She hides her past from him, but she is surprised that he shows her his love and decides to marry her and introduces her to his family, which puts her in a conflict between love and revenge. The mother reveals Dunia's past and she decides to commit suicide.
Dunia
1946
7.7Aziza and her husband Abdullah are both day laborers who work on various farms. When Aziza is brutally raped by a guard while she is picking potatoes in a field, she tries to hide the pregnancy and plans to kill the baby once it is born.
The Sin
1965
6.8A chance meeting at an auction brings together Sawsan, a working-class girl and Adel, heir to a vast fortune with several estates to his name. This leads to a whirlwind marriage. This development spells trouble for Adel's fair-weather bourgeois clique, who are used to manipulating him with their own financial interests at heart.
Sayedat el kasr
1958
NRMona meets Magdy and Fouad in Alexandria and falls in love with Fouad who loves her back, but Magdy asks her to marry him and her mother agrees because of his wealth. After Mona marries Magdy, she finds out that he's impotent, which causes a series of problems.
The Virgin Wife
1958
Behind the camera
6.5Amal and her friend Fatima are happily in love with Ahmed and Dr. Mamdouh respectively. After it is discovered that Amal has a debilitating condition, her father attempts to keep it a secret.
Appointment with Life
1953
7.5(A tale behind every door) A television movie consisting of four short films, written by the great writer Tawfiq Al-Hakim and writer Katia Thabet, in each film a different problem is presented, and the four films starring Faten Hamama and different heroes, and they are, respectively: (Crazy position) starring Ahmed Ramzi, (I want to kill) starring Abu Bakr Ezzat and Safia Al-Omari, (the respected deputy) starring Ahmed Mazhar, and (guest at dinner) starring Jamil Ratib and Nadia Zulfiqar and Muhammad Al-Sabe, and each film talks about a specific social issue that occurs to a woman, and deals with each What happens to her.
A Tale Behind Every Door
1979
5.8A dramatic love story about the daughter of a retired drunk fisherman and a marine officer.
Love and Tears
1955
10.0A story of an unexpected encounter between an intellectual man immersed in philosophy and a mischievous spirit who suddenly appears before him. Through their conversations, she opens a door not to the world of mere myths, but to deep questions about mortality, knowledge, and the universe
House of Ants
1979