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Mahmoud Zulfikar

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Mahmoud Zulfikar (February 18, 1914 – May 22, 1970) was an Egyptian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He was a major figure in Egyptian film industry.[1][2][3] He started his career as an architect, before becoming an actor in 1939. Zulfikar was one of the most prominent artists in Egypt, and was known for his boldness and adventure with the new talents he presented to the Egyptian audience, later, he was nicknamed the "Talent Finder". Zulfikar was able to go beyond the limits of the film location with accurate calculations and through his imaginations, he could make his scripts alive. This earned him in Egypt the nickname of "The Event Maker".[4][5]

Mahmoud Zulfikar
محمود ذو الفقار
Zulfikar in 1950
Born
Mahmoud Qasdy Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar

(1914-02-18)18 February 1914
Tanta, Khedivate of Egypt
Died22 May 1970(1970-05-22) (aged 56)
Cairo, United Arab Republic
Burial placeCairo, Egypt
NationalityEgyptian
Other namesMohandes El-Fan (Art Engineer)
EducationArchitectural Engineering
Alma materCairo University
Occupations
  • Engineer
  • film director
  • film producer
  • screenwriter
  • actor
Years active1939–1970
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1940; died 1952)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1952; div. 1960)​
ChildrenIman
FatherAhmed Mourad Bey Zulfikar
Relatives
FamilyZulfikar family

Early life

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Mahmoud Qasdy Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar was born on February 18, 1914, in Tanta, Egypt. Born to an aristocratic family of a prominent position in Egypt. His father, Ahmed Mourad Bek Zulfikar, served as a senior police commissioner in the Ministry of Interior and his mother Nabila hanem Zulfikar was a housewife. He was the fourth among eight siblings. His brother Mohamed who would grow up to be a businessman, Soad, Fekreya, Ezz El-Dine who would grow up to be a famous filmmaker. They were followed by brothers Kamal, Salah, the famous actor and producer and finally Mamdouh who would grow up to be a businessman.

Career

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Zulfikar graduated from faculty of engineering and worked as an architect in the Design Department at the Ministry of Works, but his passion for movie business encouraged him to make a career shift and become a filmmaker. He was an actor, film producer, screenwriter, and film director.[6][7][8]

 
Zulfikar and Aziza Amir on the poster for Ibn El-Balad (1942)

He was a comprehensive artist. He is one of the most talented filmmakers in the history of Egyptian cinema. He started as an actor in 1939, and directed 44 films between 1947 and 1970. Zulfikar's films have been nominated for numerous awards both nationally and internationally. As an actor, his film debut was in Bayayet El Tiffah (1939). He starred in multiple commercial hits mostly as a director as well, including; Ibn El-balad (1942), El-Feloos (1945), Fauq Al Sahab (1947), Al lailu lana (1949), Akhlaq lil baye (1950), Qamar Arba'tashar (1950), and My Father Deceived Me (1951). Zulfikar's notable films as a writer, director included; A Girl from Palestine (1948), which Zulfikar also played the lead, plot evolved around the 1948 Palestine War, while Zulfikar played the character of an Egyptian Air Force pilot, whose plane crashes in a Palestinian village, and falls in love with a Palestinian girl which helps him to treat his injuries. Other films include; Amint Bi Allah (1953), El Ard El Tayeba (1954).

 
Zulfikar in A Girl from Palestine (1948)
 
Zulfikar in Al lailu lana (1949)

In 1959, Zulfikar wrote and directed The Unknown Woman, based on the French play Madame X. The film was a huge success and a breakthrough for the lead Shadia in a dramatic role, and It was the highest-grossing film in the Soviet Union for 1961, the only African film to ever achieve that.[9] The 1960 film El Robat el Mukadass was produced by Ezz El-Dine Zulficar Films Company owned by his younger brothers Ezz El-Dine Zulficar and Salah Zulfikar, with the latter starring in the film alongside Sabah and Emad Hamdy.

Zulfikar's 1963 film Soft Hands was entered into the 14th Berlin International Film Festival[10] and he was nominated for Silver Bear for Best Director.[11][12][13] In For Men Only (1964), which Zulfikar co-written and directed, the film discussed gender equality through female gas engineers who disguised in men appearances to go to oil drilling locations which was banned for women. The 1965 romance Dearer than my Life was considered a different genre for Zulfikar while the film achieved critical and commercial success. Other notable films include; Al Khroug Men Al Guana (1967), The Splendor of Love (1968), and Featureless Men (1972) which was released posthumously. As a producer, he established his film production company in early 1940s, produced almost 10 films including; Miss Fatima (1952) and El Ard el Tayeba (1954).[14][15][16][17]

Personal life

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Zulfikar married actress Aziza Amir, and together they made a successful duo. After her death he married Mariam Fakhreddine in 1952 and presented her to film industry, she became a famous actress in 1950s. They had one daughter, Iman. He's the elder brother of Ezz El-Dine, film director and producer, and Salah, actor and producer.[18]

Zulfikar died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 56 on May 22, 1970, in Cairo, Egypt.

Filmography

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Director

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Writer

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  • 1944 Taqiyyat al Ikhfa (screenplay)
  • 1945 Ibnati (story)
  • 1945 El Feloos
  • 1947 Fauq el sahab (script)
  • 1951 Khadaini abi (story & screenplay)
  • 1954 El Ard el Tayeba (story)
  • 1958 Shabab el-Yom (Writer)
  • 1963 Imra'a fi dawama
  • 1964 Thaman el hub (writer)

Producer

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Actor

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  • 1939 Bayayet El Tiffah
  • 1940 El awda il al rif
  • 1941 El Warsha
  • 1942 Masnaa el zawjate
  • 1942 Ibn El-balad
  • 1942 Wedding Night
  • 1943 Wadi el Nogoom
  • 1945 Al-Anissa Busa
  • 1945 Al-Fulus
  • 1945 Ibnati
  • 1947 Hadaya
  • 1947 Fauq el sahab
  • 1948 Fatat men Falastin
  • 1949 Afrah
  • 1949 Nadia
  • 1949 Al lailu lana
  • 1950 Ayni bi-triff
  • 1950 Akhlaq lel-Bai
  • 1950 Qamar Arba'tashar
  • 1951 Khadaini abi
  • 1953 El shak el katel
  • 1955 Assafir el Ganna
  • 1957 Hareb minel hub
  • 1968 El-Sit el-Nazra

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "IMDB.com: Awards for Soft Hands". imdb.com. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Mahmoud Zulfikar". IMDb. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. ^ Limbacher, James L. (1983). Sexuality in World Cinema: L-Z. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1609-1.
  4. ^ الوفد. "شاهد.. محمود ذو الفقار فكهاني الفن وصانع النجوم". الوفد. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  5. ^ "موقع بوابة فيتو | محمود ذو الفقار.. دنجوان أشهر عائلة فنية الذي هزت مسيرته فنانتين". موقع نبض. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Philip F. (2010). "Sons and Lovers and the Mirage: Recognition, Melodrama and Psychoanalysis in Maḥfūẓ's al-Sarāb". Journal of Arabic Literature. 41 (1/2): 46–65. doi:10.1163/157006410X486729. ISSN 0085-2376. JSTOR 20720602.
  7. ^ Cowie, Peter; Elley, Derek (1977). World Filmography: 1967. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. ISBN 978-0-498-01565-6.
  8. ^ al-Qawmī, United Arab Republic Wizārat al-Thaqāfah wa-al-Irshād (1960). The Cultural Yearbook.
  9. ^ "Неизвестная женщина". sso.passport.yandex.ru. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  10. ^ Soft Hands, retrieved 12 October 2022
  11. ^ Kreil, Aymon (2016). "The Price of Love: Valentine's Day in Egypt and ITS Enemies". The Arab Studies Journal. 24 (2): 128–146. ISSN 1083-4753. JSTOR 44742883.
  12. ^ Limbacher, James L. (1983). Sexuality in World Cinema: L-Z. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1609-1.
  13. ^ Motion Picture Herald. Quigley Publishing Company. July 1966.
  14. ^ "Remembering Shadia: 'The People's Idol' singer and actress - Film - Arts & Culture". Ahram Online. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Mahmoud Zulfikar". MUBI. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  16. ^ "FilmAffinity". FilmAffinity. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Mahmoud Zulfikar - Dhliz - Leading Egyptian movie and artist database". dhliz.com. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Remembering Mariam Fakhr Eddine on Her Birthday - Sada El balad". 8 January 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
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