The 6,650 kilometer-long Nile that flows northwards through Egypt towards the Mediterranean is not only Egypt’s primary source of water and therefore of economic and political importance, it also continues to represent a popular subject in art, ranging from literature, paintings, songs to films. When it comes to film and TV representations of the Nile, the river has received relatively frequent attention, especially in the documentary genre of the historical or geographical type, just as it has served as a popular backdrop for many Western, notably earlier Hollywood fiction films, where it has captured the imagination of directors wanting to portray an exotic ‘foreign land’. A number of prominent Egyptian films also feature the Nile, testament to the fact that the river forms an indispensable part of Egyptian culture and society, past and present. The following are a diverse selection of films that in different ways document this beautiful part of Egyptian landscape. The Nile in Egyptian Cinema Two exemplary Egyptian films produced in the 1970s feature the Nile and can be considered among the classics in the repertoire of Egyptian cinema, both also shedding light on important political and…
Inspired by the River: A Diverse Selection of Films Featuring the Nile
August 6, 2019
