The long read · Egyptian cinema
Hollywood on the Nile: Egyptian Cinema and Its Global Stars
For nearly a century Cairo has been the film capital of the Arab world, and its stars are known from Morocco to the Gulf. Here is the story of Egyptian film, from Studio Misr to Youssef Chahine and Omar Sharif, and where to watch in Cairo.
Updated October 2026
From Studio Misr to Youssef Chahine
In 1935 Studio Misr, founded with the backing of the industrialist Talaat Harb, gave Cairo a film studio to match Europe’s, and Egyptian musicals, melodramas and comedies soon filled cinemas across the Arab world. Its golden age, from the 1940s to the 1960s, made stars of singers such as Umm Kulthum and Abdel Halim Hafez and of actresses such as Faten Hamama.
Youssef Chahine, born in Alexandria, became the country’s great director: his Cairo Station (1958) is still one of the most admired Arab films, and in 1997 Cannes gave him its 50th Anniversary Prize for his life’s work. Shadi Abdel Salam’s The Night of Counting the Years (1969), about the discovery of royal mummies near Thebes, is a masterpiece of its own.
Must-watch films
To understand Egyptian cinema, start with these.
- Cairo Station (1958): Youssef Chahine’s drama of a newspaper seller at the capital’s main station, with Chahine himself in the lead.
- The Night of Counting the Years (1969): Shadi Abdel Salam’s haunting film, restored by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation.
- Alexandria… Why? (1979): Chahine’s affectionate memory of his wartime youth in Alexandria.
- Yomeddine (2018): A. B. Shawky’s road movie, chosen for the main competition at Cannes.
- Feathers (2021): Omar El Zohairy’s deadpan comedy, winner of the Critics’ Week grand prize at Cannes.
The stars
Egypt’s stars are the most famous faces of Arab cinema.
- Omar Sharif (1932–2015): born in Alexandria, the star of Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.
- Faten Hamama (1931–2015): the “Lady of the Arab Screen”, in more than half a century of films.
- Soad Hosny (1943–2001): the beloved “Cinderella of Arab cinema” of the 1960s and 1970s.
- Abdel Halim Hafez (1929–1977): the singer whose musicals made audiences swoon.
- Adel Imam: the great comic actor, a favourite across the Arab world for decades.
Where to watch in Cairo
The Cairo International Film Festival, held every year since 1976 and the first international film festival in the Arab world, has its home at the Cairo Opera House on Gezira island, whose halls screen films from around the world each November. All year, the city’s cinemas show the latest Egyptian comedies and dramas alongside Hollywood releases.
Our advice: catch a festival screening at the Opera House, then walk along the Nile in Zamalek.
Hidden on the silver screen: international productions filmed in Egypt
The pyramids, the Nile and Cairo’s old mosques have drawn film-makers for a century.
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Giza and Islamic Cairo: Roger Moore’s James Bond at the pyramids’ sound-and-light show and the Mosque of Ibn Tulun.
- Death on the Nile (1978), Aswan and Abu Simbel: Peter Ustinov’s Poirot aboard a Nile steamer, with scenes at the Old Cataract Hotel.
Egypt in Hollywood
Omar Sharif became Hollywood’s first great Arab star, nominated for the Oscar for Lawrence of Arabia and winner of Golden Globes for it and for Doctor Zhivago. Today Rami Malek, born in Los Angeles to Egyptian parents, won the Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody and played a Bond villain in No Time to Die, and Egyptian directors are regulars at Cannes again.
Questions and answers
Why is Egypt called the Hollywood of the Arab world?
From the 1930s Cairo’s studios, led by Studio Misr, made most of the films seen across the Arab world, and their stars became household names from Morocco to the Gulf.
When is the Cairo International Film Festival?
Every November, with the Cairo Opera House as its main home.
Join the conversation
Which Egyptian film or star do you love most? Share your favourite scenes and the films we should add.
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Sources: the Cairo International Film Festival, the Festival de Cannes, the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, checked on 6 November 2026. The trailers are from Strand Releasing’s and Sony Pictures’ official channels.