Written and photographed by Ahmed Kafafi, Community Times Documenting cinema history worldwide is not an easy job, as it involves the collection of material that ranges from brochures, posters, magazine articles, to photographs and footages depicting stars and filmmakers. This is a lifetime occupation. And those who have always featured in this respect are none other than El Kotobghiya, an Azbakia-Used-Book-Market based family that have, over the last 70 years, accumulated hoards of press material, including newspapers, magazines, books, posters, ads and other stuff that helped document Egypt’s social, economic and political histories. A considerable part of this heritage relates to cinema that started as a worthwhile industry in Egypt as early as the 1930s. Having wisened up to the value of El Kobobghiya’s cinema-related wealth, the cultural authorities have taken the initiative to shed light on their effort in the different cinematic events organized countrywide. This is why their corner in the (Film Publications Exhibition), organized on the sidelines of the Cairo International Film Festival, hogged the limelight. The exhibition was featured within the premises of Cairo Opera House. It included a book fair promoting cinema books and a…
