Zawya Holds Naguib Mahfouz Film Program

To celebrate his talent and legacy, Zawya Cinema launched on Feb. 15 the 'Naguib Mahfouz Film Program', in collaboration with Diwan Publishing, the Naguib Mahfouz Project and Rizo Masr.

Zawya will screen seven notable classical Egyptian movies, five being adaptations of Mahfouz’s novel with the remaining two featuring his work as a screenwriter.

The film program, runs through March 2, includes the films "I'm Free", "Karnak", "Al-Sukaria", "Gossip over the Nile", and "The Choice".

The author, whose prolific career saw a number of novels, short stories, and articles, passed away in 2006. He is survived by his two daughters, Fatima and Umm Kalthum.

Mahfouz’s seminal work has inspired generations of writers. The subtle genius of his series and movies has left a distinctive mark on the Arab world.

Born in Cairo, on December 11, 1911, Mahfouz was an Egyptian novelist, journalist, and author of several short stories, who was one of Arab’s most popular writers.

He was well-known for his critical, realistic, and centrist approach to controversial topics like social equality and political global changes.

Moreover, his stories encompassed many relevant issues including poverty, injustice, and crime, almost always with a twist of humor.

Not someone who was afraid to speak his mind, he gave some of the most captivating nostalgic stories that are still regarded to be masterpieces.

Author of popular short stories and novels such as, Khan al-Khalili (1945), Midaq Alley (1947), The Mirage (1948), The Beginning and the End (1950), Palace Walk (1956), (Cairo Trilogy, Part 1), Palace of Desire (1957), (Cairo Trilogy, Part 2), Sugar Street (1957), (Cairo Trilogy, Part 3), Children of Gebelawi (1959), The Thief and the Dogs.

Mahfouz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, becoming the first Arabic-language writer to receive the prize.

Half of his remarkable novels have been made into movies that have circulated throughout the Arabic-speaking world.

In Egypt, each new publication is regarded as a major cultural event and his name is inevitably among the first mentioned in any literary discussion from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean.

He was people’s writer, and that’s how he will stay, how he will remain in their hearts and in their memories forever.