Women of Interest: Faten Hamama

By: Karim Mourtada
@ImKarimKop

Faten Hamama, also known as “The Lady of the Arab Screen”, is considered by many as one of the most important actresses of Egyptian and Arabic cinema.

Born in El-Mansoura in 1931, her incredible journey kick-started when her father sent her picture to director and cinema pioneer Mohammed Karim, to star alongside renowned musician Mohamed Abdel Wahab in in Yawm Said (Happy Day) in 1939 at the age of eight.

Four years later, she was chosen by Karim for another role alongside Abdel Wahab in the film Rossassa Fel Qalb (Bullet in the Heart).

Following her initial success, she moved to Cairo and started her studies at the High Institute of Acting in 1946.

During “The Golden Age of Egyptian Cinema” in the 1950’s, she worked closely with director Ezzel Dine Zulficar on Moawad Ma Al Hayat (Date With Life) in 1954, which was named movie of the year and earned her the title “Lady of the Arab Screen”.

Her role in Laka Yom Ya Zalem (Your Day Will Come) became the talk of the town when it was featured in the Cannes Film Festival in 1952 – Hamama soon became the highest-paid actress in Egyptian cinema.

Hamama left Egypt from 1966-1971 because of political pressures. During this period, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser asked some prominent critics and writers to persuade her to return to Egypt, calling her “a national treasure”.

During the celebration of 100 years of Egyptian cinema in 1996, she was chosen as the country’s most important actress, and 18 of her films were selected as among the best 150 made to that time.