Mohamed Khan


Mohamed Hamed Hassan Khan was an Egyptian film director, screenwriter, and actor. His main aesthetic credo, in line with directors from his generation, was a reinvigorated realism seeking direct documentation of everyday life in Cairo, beyond the walls of the studio. Khan has 4 films in the Top 100 Egyptian films list.
He was a pivotal member of the "1980s generation" in Egyptian cinema, along with directors such as Khairy Beshara, Daoud Abd El-Sayed, Atef El-Tayeb, and Yousry Nasrallah.

Biography

Khan was born on 26 October 1942 in Cairo, Egypt to an Egyptian mother, and a British father from what is now Pakistan. After completing his high school education in Egypt, he went on to study at the London School of Film Technique between 1962 and 1963. He directed several 8mm films. In 1963, he returned to Egypt and worked in the script department of the General Egyptian Film Organization. Between 1964 and 1966, he worked as an assistant director in Lebanon. He then moved again in England, where he wrote his book "An Introduction to the Egyptian Cinema", published by Informatics in 1969. He edited another Book entitled “Outline of Czechoslovakian Cinema”, which was also published by Informatics in 1971.
His 1983 film The Street Player was entered into the 13th Moscow International Film Festival. According to a book issued by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in December 2007, Khan's Ahlam Hind we Kamilia is one of the 100 landmarks in the history of the Egyptian cinema.
He has one daughter, Nadine, a film director, and one son, Hassan Khan, an artist and musician. He was married twice first to Zeinab Khalifa, a well known Egyptian jeweller and then to Wessam Soliman, an Egyptian scenarist who wrote three of his movies: Banat Wust el-Balad, Fi-Sha'et Masr el-Guedida, and Fatat el-Masna'.

Filmography, screening and prizes

Short FilmsDa'e Al Haram Al Battikha . Screened at Adelaide and Oberhausen film festivals in 1973.Leqa' a'ely Al Sebaq Al Tawil ' Yoam Fi Hayat Ossra Sa'eeda Al Alameyya Ahlam layssat Mostahila Al Mar'a Al Messreyya Atfal Al Shaware' Al Bait Al Kabir
Feature FilmsDarbet shams ' Screened at Montreal World Film Festival in 1979. Cidalec Golden Award for first film at the Alexandria Film Festival in 1979. First Film Award at the Egyptian Film Society Festival in 1979. Certificate of Merrit for Direction from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture in 1981.El Raghba Al Tha'r Ta'er ala el tariq '. Screened at Montreal, Sorento, Tashkent, Karlovy Vary Film Festivals in 1981 and 1982. Jury Award at the Egyptian Film Society Festival in 1982.Maw'id ala asha' Nos Arnab El Harrif . Screened at the Moscow, Berlin, Valencia Film Festivals in 1983 and 1984. Best Direction at the Egyptian Film Society Festival in 1985.Kharaga wa lam ya'ud . Silver Award at the Carthage Film Festival in 1984.Moshwar Omar . Screened at the Strasbourg, Valencia Film Festivals. Screened at the Tashkent, Strasbourg, Paris Arab Film Festivals in 1986 and 1987.Youssef and Zeinab '. Screened at the Strasbourg and Moscow Film Festivals in 1986 and 1987.