19° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
Tribute to Shadi Abdu Al Salam

Al mumia

The Mummy
by Shadi Abdu Al Salam
Country: Egypt
Year: 1968
Duration: 105'


Southern Egypt, 1881. Wanis, a young man of the Al Harbat tribe, is torn between respect for his father, the tribal head, who makes a living by selling archeological artifacts, and his desire to show the Egyptologist Kamal the secret site of the Pharaoh's tomb. When his brother Shafiq, who is about to tell Kamal the secret, is killed by his grandfather, Wanis decides to take the Egyptologist to the site. The treasure hidden inside the tomb is transported to Cairo.

"I met Rossellini when he came to Egypt to shoot a series dedicated to ancient civilizations. On that occasion, Rossellini read the screenplay of Al mumia and the film was made thanks to his support. […] I tried to make an Egyptian form of moviemaking through the recuperation of my country's art. In Al mumia, I tried to express the contemporary Egyptian character, who re-discovers his roots in order to start off again" (Shadi Abdu Al Salam, in an interview with Samir Farid, published in "Al Giumhuriyya", December 16, 1969).

Biography

film director

Shadi Abdu Al Salam

Shadi Abdu Al Salam (1930-1986). Director, screenwriter, set and costume designer, he graduated from the Fine Arts Academy in Cairo in 1955 and in 1957 he worked as director's assistant for Salah Abu Seif. Between 1959 and 1966 he designed sets and costumes for ten Egyptian films and foreign productions including Cleopatra by Mankiewicz and La lotta dell'uomo per la sopravvivenza by Renzo Rossellini, with Roberto Rossellini's supervision.

FILMOGRAFIA

Al mumia (La mummia, 1968-1969), Shakawa al fallah al fasih (I lamenti del contadino eloquente, cm, 1970), Afaq (Orizzonti, cm, 1973), Giuiush al shams (Le armate del sole, doc., 1974-75), Kursi Tutankhamun al dahabi (La sedia d'oro di Tutankhamun, cm, 1982), Al ahram (Le piramidi, cm, 1984), An Ramsis (A proposito di Ramsis, cm, 1985).

Cast

& Credits

Regia, soggetto, sceneggiatura e costumi: Shadi Abdu Al Salam.
Dialogues: Shadi Abdu Al Salam, Ala'u Al Dib.
Director of photography: Abdu Al Aziz Fahmi.
Art director: Salah Mer'i.
Editor: Kamal Abu Al Ila.
Music: Mario Nascimbeni.
Sound: Meridiana House.
Cast: Ahmad Mer'i, Zuzu Hamdi Al Hakim, Ahmad Higiazi, Abdu Al Mun'im Abu Al Futuh, Gabi Kraz, Mohammad Khairi, Nadia Luttfi.
Production company and Italian distribution: Ente Generale del Cinema.
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