Faten Hamama, the Egyptian-born actress whose victory in a beauty contest when she was only 7 inspired a cinematic career that would span nearly 100 films and establish her as the unrivaled “Lady of the Arabic Screen,” died on Saturday in Cairo. She was 83.
She had been in a hospital with an undisclosed illness, the Egyptian state news agency said.
Ms. Hamama was best known to American audiences as the wife of Omar Sharif, her sometime co-star whose career she had helped start, and for a leading role in the 1963 English-language film “Cairo” with George Sanders.
For a half-century, she stayed current by taking topical roles in films dealing with social justice and women’s rights. As an idolized national figure, she not only galvanized support for those causes but also helped redefine the Arab woman.
In 2000, she was named “Star of the Century” by the Egyptian Writers and Critics organization for her performances in the movies and on television and for her work as a producer. In 2007, eight of her films were among the top 100 Egyptian motion pictures cited by the cinema committee of the Supreme Council of Culture in Cairo.
Ms. Hamama was born on May 27, 1931, in Mansoura, in the Nile Delta. She was 6 when she attended her first film, she recalled, and identified with the star so immediately that when the movie was over she assumed that the audience’s ovation was intended for her.
After she won the beauty contest, her father, a civil servant in the Ministry of Education and a frustrated actor, proudly sent her photo to a movie producer, who cast her in the film “A Happy Day.” She was paid about $1.40 in today’s dollars.
But she was soon in demand by directors for her combination of innocent looks and seductive charm and called “Egypt’s Shirley Temple.” She later starred in, among other films, “The Nightingale’s Prayer,” “The Night of Fatima’s Arrest” and “I Want a Solution,” a powerful feminist drama that contributed to legal reforms that allowed women in Egypt to divorce their husbands.
In 1947, Ms. Hamama married the director Ezzel Dine Zulficar. After they divorced, she married Michel Demitri Shalhoub, an unknown actor whom she had met while filming “Struggle in the Valley” and with whom she shared her first on-screen kiss.
In an off-screen fairy-tale love story that captivated her fans, her co-star, raised Roman Catholic, converted to Islam and changed his name to Omar Sharif.
Married in 1955, they later appeared together in a number of films, including “River of Love,” an Egyptian production based on Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina.”
They divorced in 1974, and Mr. Sharif attributed the breakup to his frequent trips abroad after he was discovered by Hollywood and cast in a leading role in “Lawrence of Arabia.” Complaining about the political climate in Egypt, Ms. Hamama lived in Paris, London and Lebanon in the late 1960s, despite President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s invitation to return and his characterization of her as “a national treasure.”
After her second divorce, she married Dr. Mohamed Abdel Wahab Mahmoud, who survives her, along with two children from her earlier marriages, Nadia Zulficar and Tarek Sharif.
“Art is all that elevates and inspires the human feeling,” Ms. Hamama liked to say, “and all that fails by the feeling does not belong to art.”
____________________________________________________
Arab film icon Faten Hamama dies at 83
'Lady of the Arab screen' Faten Hamama appeared in almost 100 films and worked with masters of Egypt's film industry.
![Faten Hamama, here with her son Tarek, was in the film industry for almost 75 years [Getty Images]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uDNVLv2BpMC1FkFxjRZQqzs5OE2KEVZjj4XCSK4CuOLwiIJCsJjnmQLsi3FvWSkme61aMo9GmIsOZ6SkbbuUMNxnUFNDTE66g30tj41cGDGFFmWXtU7jvn1GHwFCq__rb2hszbEWqxd2QCw16JBnLJks9vnNqV5X_Wbh7uViVFgkDywsESOp5_UhRM=s0-d "Arab film icon Faten Hamama dies at 83")
Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, an Arab film icon and ex-wife of actor Omar Sharif, died at the age of 83, her son Tarek Sharif announced.
Hamama who passed away on Saturday, was hospitalised weeks earlier due to illness but had returned home, Egypt's official news agency, MENA, reported.
"Egypt and the Arab world have lost a creative and artistic talent who enriched Egyptian art with her sophisticated performances," the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
"The Lady of the Arabic screen," as she was known, suffered "a sudden health problem which led to her death," MENA reported.
Hamama was less than ten years old when she made her screen debut and appeared in almost 100 films and worked with masters of Egypt's massive film industry, including Youssef Chahine.
She often starred alongside her former husband Omar Sharif. Born a Christian, he converted to Islam to marry Hamama and described her as the only love of his life.
The couple appeared together in the 1961 film River of Love based on Leon Tolstoy'sAnna Karenina.
They divorced in 1974 when Omar Sharif, then already famous in his homeland, launched a career in Hollywood.
A figure of the golden age of Egyptian cinema, Hamama's career reached its pinnacle in the 1940s and 1950s.
She starred in romantic movies alongside the famed Arab crooner Abdel Halim Hafez as well as in films advocating women's rights and condemning social injustices.
Hamama also had a daughter, Nadia, from a first marriage and tied the knot for a third time with a doctor, Mohamed Abdel Wahab.
____________________________________________________
Faten Hamama (Arabic: فاتن حمامة, Fātan Ḥamāmah), 27 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an Egyptian film and television actress and producer.
She made her screen debut in 1939, when she was only seven years old. Her earliest roles were minor, but her activity and gradual success helped to establish her as a distinguished Egyptian actress. Eventually, and after many successful performances, she was able to achieve stardom. Revered as an icon in Egyptian and Middle Eastern cinema, Hamama substantially helped in improving the cinema industry in Egypt and emphasized the importance of women in cinema and Egyptian society.
After a seven-year hiatus from acting, Hamama returned in 2000 in what was a much anticipated television mini-series, Wajh al-Qamar (وجه القمر, Face of the Moon). In 2000, she was selected as Star of the Century by the Egyptian Writers and Critics organization. In 2007, eight of the films she starred in were included in the top 100 films in the history of Egyptian cinema by the cinema committee of the Supreme Council of Culture in Cairo.
Faten Hamama was born in 1931 to a Muslim lower middle class family in Mansoura, Egypt (according to her birth certificate), but she claimed to have been born in the Abdeen quarter of Cairo. Her father, Ahmed Hamama, worked as a clerk in the Egyptian Ministry of Education and her mother was a housewife. She had an older brother, Muneer, a younger sister, Layla, and a younger brother, Mazhar. Her aspiration for acting arose at an early age. Hamama was influenced by Assia Dagher as a child. When she was six years old, her father took her to the theater to see an Assia Dagher film; when the audience clapped for Assia, Faten told her father she felt they were clapping for her.
When Faten won a children's beauty pageant in Egypt, her father sent her picture to the director Mohammed Karim who was looking for a young female child to play the role of a small girl with the famous actor and musician Mohamed Abdel Wahab in the film Yawm Said (يوم سعيد, Happy Day, 1939). After an audition, Abdel Wahab decided that Faten was the one he was looking for. After her role in the film, people called her "Egypt's own Shirley Temple". The director liked her acting and was impressed with her so much that he signed a contract with her father. Four years later, she was chosen by Kareem for another role with Abdel Wahab in the film Rossassa Fel Qalb (رصاصة في القلب,Bullet in the Heart, 1944) and in another film two years later, Dunya (دنيا, Universe, 1946). After her success, Hamama moved with her parents to Cairo and started her study in the High Institute of Acting in 1946.
Youssef Wahbi, an Egyptian actor and director, recognized the young actress's talent so he offered her a lead role in the 1946 film Malak al-Rahma (ملاك الرحمة, Angel of Mercy). The film attracted widespread media attention, and Hamama, who was only 15 at the time, became famous for her melodramatic role. In 1949, Hamama had roles in three films with Wahbi: Kursi Al-I'etraf (كرسي الاعتراف, Chair of Confession), Al-Yateematain (اليتيمتين, The Two Orphans), and Sït Al-Bayt (ست البيت, Lady of the House). All were successful films.
The 1950s were the beginning of the golden age of the Egyptian cinema industry and Hamama was a big part of it. In 1952 she starred in the film Lak Yawm Ya Zalem (لك يوم يا ظالم, Your Day will Come) which was nominated at the Cannes Film Festival for the Prix International award. She also played lead roles in Yousef Shaheen's Baba Ameen(بابا أمين, Ameen, my Father, 1950) and Sira' Fi Al-Wadi (صراع في الوادي, Struggle in the Valley, 1954) which was a strong nominee in the 1954 Cannes Film Festival for the Prix International award. Hamama is also known for playing the lead role in the first Egyptian mystery film Manzel Raqam 13 (منزل رقم 13, House Number 13). In 1963, she received an award for her role in the political film La Waqt Lel Hob (لا وقت للحب, No Time for Love). Hamama was also able to make it to Hollywood; in 1963 she had a role in the crime film, Cairo.
In 1947, Hamama married actor/director Ezzel Dine Zulficar while filming the Abu Zayd al-Hilali (أبو زيد الهلالي) film. They started a production company which produced the film Maw'ed Ma' Al-Hayat (موعد مع الحياة, Date with Life) in which she starred. This particular film earned her the title of the "lady of the Arabic screen". She divorced Zulficar in 1954. One year later, she married Egyptian film star Omar Sharif. Hamama continued to act in films directed by her first husband.
In 1954, while filming a Youssef Chahine film, Struggle in the Valley, Hamama refused to have the Egyptian actor Shukry Sarhan as a co-star, and Chahine offered Omar Sharif the role. Omar had just graduated from college then and was working for his father; Hamama accepted him as her co-star. Hamama had never agreed to act any scene involving a kiss in her career, but she shockingly agreed to do so in this film. The two fell in love, and Sharif converted to Islam and married her. This marriage started a new era of Hamama's career as the couple made many films together. Sharif and Hamama were the romantic leads of Ayyamna Al-Holwa (أيامنا الحلوة, Our Sweet Days), Ardh Al-Salam (أرض السلام, Land of Peace), La Anam (لا أنام, Sleepless), and Sayyidat Al-Qasr (سيدة القصر, The Lady of the Palace). Their last film together, before their divorce, was Nahr Al-Hob (نهر الحب, The River of Love) in 1960.
Hamama left Egypt from 1966 to 1971 due to the harassment by Egyptian Intelligence. She had been a supporter of the 1952 Revolution, but later became an opponent of the Free Officers and their oppressive regime. Consequently, she was forbidden to travel or participate in film festivals. She was only able to leave Egypt after many controversial disputes.
While Hamama was away, then President Gamal Abdel Nasser asked famous writers, journalists and friends to try to convince her to return to Egypt. He called her a "national treasure" and had even awarded her an honorary decoration in 1965. However, she would not return until 1971, after Nasser's death.
Hamama played roles conveying messages of democracy. She often criticized the laws in Egypt in her films. In the 1972 film Imbarotiriyat Meem (إمبراطورية ميم, The Empire of M), Hamama presented a pro-democratic point of view and received an award from the Soviet Union of Women in the Moscow International Festival. Her most significant political film was Oridu Hallan (أريد حلاً, I Want a Solution). In this film, she criticized laws governing marriage and divorce in Egypt. After the film, the Egyptian government abrogated a law that forbade wives from divorcing their husbands, therefore allowing khul'.
Hamama played roles conveying messages of democracy. She often criticized the laws in Egypt in her films. In the 1972 film Imbarotiriyat Meem (إمبراطورية ميم, The Empire of M), Hamama presented a pro-democratic point of view and received an award from the Soviet Union of Women in the Moscow International Festival. Her most significant political film was Oridu Hallan (أريد حلاً, I Want a Solution). In this film, she criticized laws governing marriage and divorce in Egypt. After the film, the Egyptian government abrogated a law that forbade wives from divorcing their husbands, therefore allowing khul'.
As Hamama became older, her acting roles declined and she made fewer films compared to earlier in her career, but nevertheless the films she was able to make tended to be successful. She made her first television appearances in her late career. She starred in the TV mini-series Dameer Ablah Hikmat (ضمير أبلة حكمت, Mrs. Hikmat's Conscience).
After 1993, her career came to a halt. It was not until 2000 that she returned in the successful TV mini-series Wajh ِِal-Qamar which was broadcast on 23 TV channels in the Middle East. In this mini-series, Hamama portrayed and criticized many problems in Egyptian and Middle Eastern society. Despite some criticisms, the mini-series received much praise and acclaim. Hamama was awarded the Egyptian Best TV Actor of the Year and the mini-series won the Best TV Series Award in the Egyptian Radio and Television Festival.
Before the 1950s, Hamama had leading roles in 30 films, in which she often played the role of a weak, empathetic, poor girl. After the 1950s, Hamama was in search of her real identity and was trying to establish herself as a distinct figure. During this period, her choice of material and roles was somewhat limited. However, film producers soon capitalized on her popularity with audiences in local and Middle Eastern markets and she began to play realistic, strong women, such as in Sira' Fi Al-Wadi (صراع في الوادي,Struggle in the Valley, 1954) where she portrayed a rich man's daughter who, contrary to stereotype, was a realistic woman who helped and supported the poor. In the 1952 film Miss Fatmah (الأستاذة فاطمة), Hamama starred as a law student who believed women were as important as men in society.
In Imbratoriyat Meem (امبراطورية ميم, The Empire of M), she played the role of a widow who takes care of her large family and suffers hardship. Her most influential film was Oridu Hallan (أريد حلا, I Want a Solution) which criticized the laws of marriage and divorce in Egypt. A law in Egypt that forbade khul' ( خلع ) – a divorce initiated by the wife.
Most critics agree that Hamama's most challenging role was in the 1959 film Dua'e Al-Karawan (دعاء الكروان, The Nightingale's Prayer), which was chosen as one of the best Egyptian film productions. It is based on the novel by the same name by the prominent Egyptian writer Taha Hussein. In this film, Hamama played the role of Amnah, a young woman who seeks revenge from her uncle for the honor killing of her sister. After this film, Hamama carefully picked her roles. In 1960, she starred in the film Nahr Hob (نهر حب, Love River) which was based on Leo Tolstoy's well known novel Anna Karenina and in 1961, she played the lead role in the film La Tutf'e al-Shams (لا تطفئ الشمس, Don't Turn Off the Sun) based on the novel by Ihsan Abdel Quddous.
Faten Hamama died on January 17, 2015, aged 83 due to health problems. Her son Tarek Sharif did not state the exact cause of death.
Hamama met director Ezzel Dine Zulficar, while filming Abu Zayd al-Hilali (أبو زيد الهلالى) in 1947, fell in love and wed. The marriage lasted for seven years. They divorced in 1954. The two remained friends, and Hamama continued to star in his films after the divorce. They had one child, a daughter, Nadia Zulficar. In 1954, Hamama chose Omar Sharif to co-star with her in a film. In this film, she uncharacteristically agreed to a romantic scene involving a kiss. During the filming, they fell in love. Sharif converted to Islam and married her. The couple co-starred in many films. However, after nearly two decades together, the couple divorced in 1974; they had one son, Tarek Sharif.
Hamama later married Dr Mohamed Abdel Wahab Mahmoud, an Egyptian physician. They resided in Cairo until her death on January 17, 2015 following a short illness.
Throughout Hamama's career, she received numerous accolades for best actress, and was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival's Prix International for her role in 1950's Your Day Will Come. She received her first award in 1951 for her role in I'm the Past. The country's Ministry of Guidance also awarded her the title of Best Actress in both 1955 and 1961. These were followed by many different awards for best actress from various national and international events. International ones included special awards for acting at the first Tehran International Film Festival in 1972 for her role in The Thin Thread, and in 1977 for her role in Mouths and Rabbits. In 1973, she received the Special Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for her role in Empire M. Other international accolades include the Best Actress awards at the Jakarta Film Festival in 1963 for her role in The Open Door, and at the Carthage Film Festival in 1988 for her role in Bitter Days, Nice Days.
Hamama was also a recipient of the Lebanese Order of Merit in 1984 for her role in The Night of Fatma's Arrest. She was later presented lifetime achievement awards, including one at the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival in 1993, and another at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2009. In 2001, the Egyptian Writers and Critics Organization chose her as "Star of the Century" at the Alexandria International Film Festival, honoring her lengthy career in Egyptian cinema.
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Faten Hamama
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Faten Hamama فاتن حمامة | |
|---|---|
Hamama in 1950s
| |
| Born | Faten Ahmed Hamama 27 May 1931 Mansoura, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt |
| Died | 17 January 2015 (aged 83) Cairo, Egypt |
| Occupation | actress, producer, production manager, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1940–2001 |
| Religion | Islam[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Ezzel Dine Zulficar (1947–54; divorced) Omar Sharif (1955–74; divorced) Mohamed Abdel Wahab Mahmoud[when?] |
| Children | 2 |
Faten Hamama (Arabic: فاتن حمامة, Fātan Ḥamāmah 
listen (help·info), 27 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an Egyptian film and television actress and producer.[2]
listen (help·info), 27 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an Egyptian film and television actress and producer.[2]
She made her screen debut in 1939, when she was only seven years old. Her earliest roles were minor, but her activity and gradual success helped to establish her as a distinguished Egyptian actress. Eventually, and after many successful performances, she was able to achieve stardom. Revered as an icon in Egyptian and Middle Eastern cinema, Hamama has substantially helped in improving the cinema industry in Egypt and emphasizing the importance of women in cinema and Egyptian society.[3]
After a seven-year hiatus from acting, Hamama returned in 2000 in what was a much anticipated television miniseries, Wajh al-Qamar (وجه القمر, Face of the Moon). In 2000, she was selected as Star of the Century by the Egyptian Writers and Critics organization. In 2007, eight of the films she starred in were included in the top 100 films in the history of Egyptian cinema by the cinema committee of the Supreme Council of Culture in Cairo.[4]
Contents
[hide]Early life and career[edit]
Faten Hamama was born in 1931[5] to a Muslim lower middle class family in Mansoura, Egypt (according to her birth certificate), but she claimed to have been born in the Abdeen quarter of Cairo.[6] Her father, Ahmed Hamama, worked as a clerk in the Egyptian Ministry of Education and her mother was a housewife. She has an older brother, Muneer, a younger sister, Layla, and a younger brother, Mazhar.[7] Her aspiration for acting arose at an early age. Hamama says she was influenced by Assia Dagher as a child. When she was six years old, her father took her to the theater to see an Assia Dagher film; when the audience clapped for Assia, she told her father she felt they were clapping for her.[6]
When she won a children's beauty pageant in Egypt, her father sent her picture to the director Mohammed Karim who was looking for a young female child to play the role of a small girl with the famous actor and musician Mohamed Abdel Wahab in the film Yawm Said (يوم سعيد, Happy Day, 1939). After an audition, Abdel Wahab decided she was the one he was looking for. After her role in the film, people called her "Egypt's own Shirley Temple".[8][9] The director liked her acting and was impressed with her so much that he signed a contract with her father. Four years later, she was chosen by Kareem for another role with Abdel Wahab in the film Rossassa Fel Qalb (رصاصة في القلب,Bullet in the Heart, 1944) and in another film two years later, Dunya (دنيا, Universe, 1946). After her success, Hamama moved with her parents to Cairo and started her study in the High Institute of Acting in 1946.[10]
Career[edit]
Youssef Wahbi, an Egyptian actor and director, recognised the young actress's talent so he offered her a lead role in the 1946 film Malak al-Rahma (ملاك الرحمة, Angel of Mercy). The film attracted widespread media attention, and Hamama, who was only 15 at the time, became famous for her melodramatic role. In 1949, Hamama had roles in three films with Wahbi: Kursi Al-I'etraf (كرسي الاعتراف, Chair of Confession), Al-Yateematain (اليتيمتين, The Two Orphans), and Sït Al-Bayt (ست البيت, Lady of the House). All were successful films.[11]
The 1950s were the beginning of the golden age of the Egyptian cinema industry and Hamama was a big part of it.[11] In 1952 she starred in the film Lak Yawm Ya Zalem (لك يوم يا ظالم, Your Day will Come) which was nominated in the Cannes Film Festival for the Prix International award. She also played lead roles in Yousef Shaheen's Baba Ameen(بابا أمين, Ameen, my Father, 1950) and Sira' Fi Al-Wadi (صراع في الوادي, Struggle in the Valley, 1954) which was a strong nominee in the 1954 Cannes Film Festival for the Prix International award. Hamama is also known for playing the lead role in the first Egyptian mystery film Manzel Raqam 13 (منزل رقم 13, House Number 13). In 1963, she received an award for her role in the political film La Waqt Lel Hob (لا وقت للحب, No Time for Love).[12] Hamama was also able to make it to Hollywood; in 1963 she had a role in the crime film, Cairo.[13]
In 1947, Hamama married actor/director Ezzel Dine Zulficar while filming the Abu Zayd al-Hilali (أبو زيد الهلالي) film. They started a production company which produced the film Maw'ed Ma' Al-Hayat (موعد مع الحياة, Date with Life) in which she starred. This particular film earned her the title of the "lady of the Arabic screen". She divorced al-Faqqar in 1954. One year later, she married Egyptian film star Omar Sharif. Hamama continued to act in films directed by her first husband.[7]
In 1954, while filming a Youssef Chahine film, Struggle in the Valley, Hamama refused to have the Egyptian actor Shukry Sarhan as a co-star, and Chahine offered Omar Sharif the role. Omar had just graduated from college then and was working for his father; Hamama accepted him as her co-star. Hamama had never agreed to act any scene involving a kiss in her career, but she shockingly accepted to do so in this film. The two fell in love, and Sharif converted to Islam and married her. This marriage started a new era of Hamama's career as the couple made many films together.[11] Sharif and Hamama were the romantic leads of Ayyamna Al-Holwa (أيامنا الحلوة, Our Sweet Days), Ardh Al-Salam (أرض السلام, Land of Peace), La Anam (لا أنام, Sleepless), and Sayyidat Al-Qasr (سيدة القصر, The Lady of the Palace). Their last film together, before their divorce, was Nahr Al-Hob (نهر الحب, The River of Love) in 1960.[14]
Controversy in the late 1960s[edit]
Hamama left Egypt from 1966 to 1971 due to the harassment by Egyptian Intelligence as she claims. She had been a supporter of the 1952 Revolution, but later became an opponent of the Free Officers and their oppressive regime.[6] She said they were "asking her to cooperate" but she apologized and refused. In consequence, she was forbidden to travel or participate in film festivals. She was only able to leave Egypt after many controversial disputes.
While she was away, then President Gamal Abdel Nasser asked famous writers, journalists and friends to try to convince her to return to Egypt. He called her a "national treasure"[15] and had even awarded her an honorary decoration in 1965. However, she would not return until 1971, after Nasser's death. She played roles conveying messages of democracy. She often criticized the laws in Egypt in her films. In the 1972 film Imbarotiriyat Meem (إمبراطورية ميم, The Empire of M), Hamama presented a prodemocratic point of view and received an award from the Soviet Union of Women in the Moscow International Festival. Her most significant film was Oridu Hallan (أريد حلاً, I Want a Solution). In this film, she criticized laws governing marriage and divorce in Egypt.[16] After the film, the Egyptian government abrogated a law that forbade wives from divorcing their husbands, therefore allowing khul'.[17][18]
Late career[edit]
As Hamama became older, her acting roles declined and she made fewer films compared to earlier in her career, but nevertheless her films were successful.[19] She made her first television appearances in her late career. She starred in the TV mini-series Dameer Ablah Hikmat (ضمير أبلة حكمت, Mrs. Hikmat's Conscience).[20]
After 1993, her career came to a halt. It was not until 2000 that she returned in the successful TV mini-series Wajh ِِal-Qamar which was broadcast on 23 TV channels in the Middle East. In this mini-series, Hamama portrayed and criticized many problems in Egyptian and Middle Eastern society.[21] Despite some criticisms, the mini-series received much praise and acclaim. Hamama was awarded the Egyptian Best TV Actor of the Year and the mini-series won the Best TV Series Award in the Egyptian Radio and Television Festival.[22] She entered history as the highest paid actress in an Egyptian television miniseries until 2006, when another actress was paid more.[23]
Before the 1950s, Hamama had leading roles in 30 films, in which she often played the role of a weak, empathetic, poor girl. After the 1950s, Hamama was in search of her real identity and was trying to establish herself as a distinct figure. During this period, her choice of material and roles was somewhat limited. However, film producers soon capitalised on her popularity with audiences in local and Middle Eastern markets and she began to play realistic, strong women, such as in Sira' Fi Al-Wadi (صراع في الوادي,Struggle in the Valley, 1954) where she portrayed a rich man's daughter who, contrary to stereotype, was a realistic woman who helped and supported the poor. In the 1952 film Miss Fatmah (الأستاذة فاطمة), Hamama starred as a law student who believed women were as important as men in society.[24]
In Imbratoriyat Meem (امبراطورية ميم, The Empire of M), she played the role of a widow who takes care of her large family and suffers hardship.[20] Her most influential film wasOridu Hallan (أريد حلا, I Want a Solution) which criticized the laws of marriage and divorce in Egypt.[16][18] A law in Egypt that forbade Khul' ( خلع ) – a divorce initiated by the wife – was annulled immediately afterwards.[17]
Most critics agree that Hamama's most challenging role was in the 1959 film Dua'e Al-Karawan (دعاء الكروان, The Nightingale's Prayer), which was chosen as one of the best Egyptian film productions. It is based on the novel by the same name by the prominent Egyptian writer Taha Hussein. In this film, Hamama played the role of Amnah, a young woman who seeks revenge from her uncle for the honor killing of her sister.[25] After this film, Hamama carefully picked her roles. In 1960, she starred in the film Nahr Hob (نهر حب, Love River) which was based on Leo Tolstoy's well known novel Anna Karenina and in 1961, she played the lead role in the film La Tutf'e al-Shams (لا تطفئ الشمس, Don't Turn Off the Sun) based on the novel by Ihsan Abdel Quddous.
Death and funeral[edit]
Faten Hamama died on January 17, 2015, aged 83 due to health problems. Her son Tarek Sharif did not state the exact cause of death.[26]
Tributes soon poured in from across the film industry following her death, as well as from government figures. Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who was on a visit abroad, mourned her death and sent an envoy to her funeral, while a statement from his office described her as a person of "high creative value". "She will remain a symbol of the genuine Egyptian art and commitment to its ethics," the statement added.[27][28] The Ministry of Culture ordered a two-day period of mourning and a halt in all artistic activity.[29] Secretary-General of the Arab League, Nabil el-Arabi, called her a "symbol of refined Egyptian and Arab art".[28] The country’s dailies gave her prominence in their front pages, with newspaper Al-Akhbar displaying "Farewell to the Lady of the Arabic Screen" as a headline.[27]
The funeral was attended by thousands of mourners who blocked traffic around the mosque where the ceremony was being held. The event was broadcast live on a private channel.[29] Attendees included Minister of Culture Gaber Asfour, former presidential candidate Amr Moussa, as well as several actors and actresses, but not Omar Sharif.[28] King Mohammed VI of Morocco assigned his country's ambassador in Cairo to attend the funeral.[30]
Marriages and children[edit]
She and director Ezzel Dine Zulficar, while filming Abu Zayd al-Hilali (أبو زيد الهلالى) in 1947, fell in love and wed. The marriage lasted for seven years. They divorced in 1954. Hamama has said that her love for Zulficar was little more than a student's admiration and love for a teacher.[6] The two remained friends, and Hamama continued to star in his films after the divorce. They had one child, a daughter, Nadia Zulficar. In 1954, Hamama chose Omar Sharif to co-star with her in a film. In this film, she uncharacteristically agreed to a romantic scene involving a kiss. During the filming, they fell in love. Sharif converted to Islam and married her. The couple co-starred in many films. However, after nearly two decades together, the couple divorced in 1974; they had one son, Tarek Sharif.[6]
Hamama later married Dr Mohamed Abdel Wahab Mahmoud, an Egyptian physician.[31] They resided in Cairo until her death on 17 January 2015 following a short illness.[32]
Awards, nominations and honours[edit]
Further information: List of Faten Hamama's awards and nominations
Throughout Hamama's career, she has received numerous accolades for best actress, and was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival’s Prix International for her role in 1950's Your Day Will Come.[33] She received her first award in 1951 for her role in I'm the Past, which was presented to her by different venues, including the Egyptian Catholic Center for Cinema. The country's Ministry of Guidance also awarded her the title of Best Actress in both 1955 and 1961. These were followed by many different awards for best actress from various national and international events.[34] International ones included special awards for acting at the firstTehran International Film Festival in 1972 for her role in The Thin Thread, and in 1977 for her role in Mouths and Rabbits.[35] In 1973, she received the Special Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for her role in Empire M. Other international accolades include the Best Actress awards at the Jakarta Film Festival in 1963 for her role in The Open Door,[34][36] and at the Carthage Film Festival in 1988 for her role in Bitter Days, Nice Days.[35]
Hamama was also a recipient of the Lebanese Order of Merit in 1984 for her role in The Night of Fatma's Arrest.[34] She was later presented lifetime achievement awards, including one at the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival in 1993, and another at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2009.[35] In 2001, the Egyptian Writers and Critics Organization chose her as "Star of the Century" at the Alexandria International Film Festival, honouring her lengthy career in Egyptian cinema.[37]
Hamama was also honoured on several other occasions. Some of those include:
- Decoration of Creativity of First Degree, from Lebanese Prime Minister Prince Khaled Chehab (1953)[38]
- Decoration of the Republic of First Degree for Art, from Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser (1965)[38]
- Decoration of the State of the First Order, from Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (1976)[38]
- Decoration of the Cedar, from Lebanese President Émile Lahoud (2001)[39]
- Decoration of Intellectual Competence, from King Mohammed VI of Morocco (2001)[39]
Selected filmography[edit]
Main article: Filmography of Faten Hamama
| Year | International Title | Arabic Title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Happy Day | Yawm Said, يوم سعيد | Aneesa |
| 1944 | Bullet in the Heart | Rossassa Fel Qalb, رصاصة في القلب | Najwah |
| 1946 | Angel of Mercy | Malak al-Rahma, ملاك الرحمة | Thoraya |
| 1947 | Abu Zayd al-Hilali | Abu Zayd al-Hilali, أبو زيد الهلالي | Caliph's daughter |
| 1948 | The Small Millionaire | Al-Millionairah al-Saghirah, المليونيرة الصغيرة | Pilot's girlfriend |
| Immortality | Khulood, خلود | Laila / Amal | |
| The Two Orphans | Al-Yateematain, اليتيمتين | Ne'mat | |
| Towards Glory | Nahwa al-Majd, نحو المجد | Suhair | |
| 1949 | Chair of Confession | Kursi al-I'tiraf, كرسي الاعتراف | Phileberta |
| Lady of the House | Sitt al-Bayt, ست البيت | Elham | |
| Every House Has a Man | Kul Bayt Lahu Rajel, كلّ بيت له راجل | Faten | |
| 1951 | Son of the Nile | Ibn al-Nile, ابن النيل | Zebaida |
| Your Day Will Come | Lak Yawm Ya Zalem, لك يوم يا ظالم | Ne'mat | |
| I'm The Past | Ana al-Madi, أنا الماضي | Elham's daughter | |
| 1952 | House Number 13 | Al-Manzel Raqam 13, المنزل رقم 13 | Nadia |
| Immortal Song | Lahn al-Kholood, لحن الخلود | Wafa' | |
| Miss Fatimah | Al-Ustazah Fatimah, الأستاذة فاطمة | Fatimah | |
| 1953 | A'isha | A'isha, عائشة | A'isha |
| Date with Life | Maw'ed Ma' al-Hayat, موعد مع الحياة | Amal | |
| 1954 | Pity My Tears | Irham Dmoo'i, ارحم دموعي | Amal |
| Traces in the Sand | Athar Fi al-Rimal, أثار في الرمال | Ragia | |
| The Unjust Angel | Al-Malak al-Zalem, الملاك الظالم | Nadia | |
| Always with You | Dayman Ma'ak, دائما معاك | Tefeeda | |
| Date with Happiness | Maw'ed Ma' al-Sa'adah, موعد مع السعادة | Ehsan / Amal | |
| Struggle in the Valley | Sira' Fi al-Wadi, صراع في الوادي | Amal | |
| 1955 | Our Beautiful Days | Ayyamna al-Holwa, أيامنا الحلوة | Hoda |
| Love and Tears | Hob Wa Dumoo'', حب و دموع | Fatimah | |
| 1956 | Love Date | Maw'ed Gharam, موعد غرام | Nawal |
| Struggle in the Pier | Sira' Fi al-Mina, صراع في الميناء | Hameedah | |
| 1957 | Road of Hope | Tareeq al-Amal, طريق الأمل | Faten |
| Land of Peace | Ard al-Salam, أرض السلام | Salma | |
| Sleepless | La Anam, لا أنام | Nadia Lotfy | |
| 1958 | The Barred Road | Al-Tareeq al-Masdood, الطريق المسدود | Fayza |
| The Virgin Wife | Al-Zawjah al-Azra', الزوجة العذراء | Mona | |
| Lady of the Castle | Sayyidat al-Qasr, سيدة القصر | Sawsan | |
| 1959 | Among the Ruins | Bayn al-Atlal, بين الأطلال | Mona |
| The Nightingale's Prayer | Doaa al-Karawan, دعاء الكروان | Amnah | |
| 1960 | River of Love | Nahr al-Hob, نهر الحب | Nawal |
| 1961 | I Will Not Confess | Lan A'tref, لن أعترف | Amal |
| Don't Set the Sun Off | La Tutf'e al-Shams, لا تطفئ الشمس | Layla | |
| 1962 | The Miracle[40] | Al-Mu'jiza, المعجزة | Layla |
| 1963 | Cairo (USA) | Cairo | Amina |
| No Time For Love[41] | La Waqt Lil Hob, لا وقت للحُب | Fawziyah | |
| The Open Door[34] | Al-Bab al-Maftooh, الباب المفتوح | Laila | |
| The Last Night | Al-Laylah al-Akheera, الليلة الأخيرة | Nadia / Fawziyah | |
| 1965 | The Sin | Al-Haram, الحرام | Azizah |
| Story of a Lifetime[42] | Hikayet al-'Omr Kolloh, حكاية العمر كلّه | Nadia | |
| The Confession[43] | Al-'Itriaf, الاعتراف | Nawal | |
| 1966 | Something in My Life[43] | Shai' Fi Hayati, شيء في حياتي | A'ida |
| 1970 | The Great Love[43] | Al-Hob al-Kabeer, الحب الكبير | Hanan |
| 1971 | The Thin Thread[43] | Al-Khayt al-Rfee, الخيط الرفيع | Mona |
| 1972 | M Empire | Imbratoriyat Meem, امبراطورية ميم | Mona |
| 1974 | My Love[43] | Habibati, حبيبتي | Samia |
| I Need a Solution | Oridu Hallan, أريدُ حلاً | Fawziyah | |
| 1977 | Mouths and Rabbits[43] | Afwah wa Araneb, أفواه و أرانب | Ne'mat |
| 1979 | No Condolences for Ladies[43] | Wa La 'Aza'a Lil Sayyidat, ولا عزاء للسيدات | Rawya |
| 1985 | The Night of Fatima's Arrest[43] | Laylat al-Qabd 'Ala Fatimah, ليلة القبض على فاطمة | Fatimah |
| 1988 | Sweet Days.. Bitter Days[43] | Yawm Mur Yawm Hilw, يوم مر.. يوم حلو | Aisha |
| 1993 | Land of Dreams[43] | Ard al-Ahlam, أرض الأحلام | Nargis |
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Arabic | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Miss Hikmat's Conscience (mini-series)[44] | Dameer Ablah Hikmat, ضمير أبلة حكمت | Hikmat |
| 2000 | Face of the Moon (mini-series) | Wajh al-Qamar, وجه القمر | Ibtisam al-Bostany |
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