Understanding the public sector in Egyptian cinema : a state venture -

Abstract

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 important, artistically. Although a few film critics have sporadically commented on the role played by this sector, it has not been the object of serious academic research or study designed to provide a balanced, more nuanced general assessment of this state institution. This thesis hopes to address this gap in the literature dealing with Egyptian cinema. An introduction evaluating the current scholarship will precede a chapter dedicated to a thorough examination of the circumstances surrounding the emergence of the public sector in Egyptian cinema. Subsequently, and after contesting common misconceptions about the expansion of this sector, chapter three will endeavor to unravel the main reasons for this expansion. After an extensive review of the public sector’s attempts to counter inherited and rising predicaments that threatened the film industry, chapter four will investigate whether there was a real change in the general perception of the cinema, and the government’s attitude towards it, following the defeat of June 1967. With the launching of the Corrective Movement in 1971 the story of this brief state adventure in film production was eventually brought to an end.