The Legacy of Shadi Abdel Salam at Small Hall & Damanhour Opera House
08 December 2024
Under the patronage of Dr. Ahmed Fouad Hanno, Minister of Culture, the Cairo Opera House, under the supervision of Dr. Lamiaa Zayed, celebrates the legacy of the great film director Shadi Abdel Salam with two events.
The first event is titled “Shadi Abdel Salam Day” and is held at the Damanhour Opera House on Wednesday, 11 December 2024 at 6 p.m. During the evening two films - “The Armies of the Sun” and “Horizons”, both written and directed by Shadi Abdel Salam - are screened. The screening is followed by a discussion panel moderated by Ahmed El Nabawy and film critic Dr. Mohamed Abdel Ghani Moustafa.
On the same day, the Small Hall at the Cairo Opera House hosts a cultural salon titled “Shadi Abdel Salam: The Passionate Pharaoh in the Eyes of Creators”. The salon features contributions from filmmaker Gamal Kassem, cinematographer Samir Farag, film critic Sameh Fathi, artist Saif Abou El Naga, and artist Walid Aouni. The session is moderated by Mr. Bashir Shousha and introduced by Dr. Nagwa Saber.
Born in 1930 in Minya Governorate, Shadi Abdel Salam studied theater arts in London, and earned a degree in architecture with distinction from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo. He entered the world of cinema through the esteemed director Salah Abu Seif. He worked as assistant to the artistic architect, Ramsis W. Wassef, 1957, and designed the decorations and costumes of some of the most famous historical Egyptian films.
Shadi Abdel Salam’s most important contribution to the Egyptian cinema was his masterpiece, The Mummy: The Night of Counting the Years, which earned numerous international awards and acclaim from the cinematic community. Notably, The Mummy was selected as one of the top 100 films in the history of world cinema.
Beyond his work as a director, Shadi Abdel Salam was a writer and visionary artist deeply connected to ancient Egyptian culture. His films vividly express the authenticity of the Egyptian spirit across different eras. Shadi Abdel Salam passed away in October 1986.
