Bellydancing in Egyptian Cinema

As part of the film festival, a small segment of five films on representations of belly dancers in Egyptian cinema will be curated by Professor Joseph Massad of Columbia University and Author of Desiring Arabs. The films spanning a quarter of a century –from 1950 to 1974—will star the two major belly dancers of the middle of the twentieth century Samia Gamal in A Glass and a Cigarette (Sigarah wa Kass), and Tahia Carioca in Shore of Love (Shati’ al-Gharam), which also co-stars the major mid-century singer/actress Laila Murad. The segment will also include two feature films about the life-stories of belly dancers in the Cairo of the earlier part of the century, including Shafiqaa al-Koptiyya (starring sex symbol Hind Rostom, the Marilyn Monroe of Egyptian cinema), and Bambah Kashshar (starring the irrepressible Nadia al-Guindi). All the films include several
belly-dancing numbers. The 1972 musical cult classic Take Care of Zuzu (Khalli balak min Zuzu), starring Suad Husni, “the Cinderella of the Arab Screen,” and a much older Tahia Carioca, provides a critique of the place belly-dancers are accorded in modern culture while showcasing the belly dancing of the multi-talented Husni, who also sings in the film. The famed director of the last three films,Hasan al-Imam, made many more films dealing with bellydancers, an abiding interest he held throughout his long career in cinema.

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The New York Arab & South Asian Film Festival would like to thank all of the film makers and other creative talents involved in making this happen for a third year. Most of all, we would like to thank the participating audiences, for bearing witness.
See you all next year!

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