When the Cairo Film Festival bestowed its Golden Pyramid Award for Life Achievement on veteran director Yousry Nasrallah, the gala audience at the opening ceremony in the Opera House went wild, joyfully screaming and applauding their delight for minutes on end.
Nasrallah is one of Egypt’s most renowned and respected names in filmmaking. His bold and sensitive approach to cinema, and interest in ordinary people has garnered critical acclaim for his ability to interweave intimate narratives with broader social and political commentaries. He was one of the first to establish a strong independent scene and introduce co-production and collaboration with Europe.
His films have courageously explored class struggle, gender dynamics, political turmoil, and posed questions about what it means to be an Egyptian in contemporary society, resulting in a highly nuanced filmography. In his work he has experimented with both visual poetry and problematic subjects, solidifying his place in the canon of Egyptian and Arab cinema. His career, spanning from the 1980s to the present, reflects his unique perspective and his importance to the Egyptian and Arab film industry.
Born in 1952, Yousry Nasrallah entered the film industry in the early 1980s as an assistant to Youssef Chahine, one of Egypt’s most distinctive filmmakers. Learning from his mentor, Nasrallah was immersed in a cinematic movement that blended the personal with the political, which became a defining hallmark of his career. He started in 1982 as an assistant director for Chahine on An Egyptian Story, followed by Goodbye Bonaparte, which he co-wrote, marking his entry into auteur cinema.
In his first feature as a director, Summer Thefts (Sariqat Sayfiyya, 1988), one can notice how the storytelling and visual approach was influenced by Chahine, yet he has developed a distinctive voice, often incorporating complex characters that occupy multiple identities and face societal challenges. The film dives into class tensions and generational divides through the story of two families, highlighting the gulf between Egypt’s aristocracy and working class. The film received international acclaim and positioned him as a filmmaker who could transcend local boundaries.
In Mercedes, he experiments with genre and pushes the boundaries of Egyptian cinema by creating a film that is part social commentary, part dark comedy, and part thriller. In this masterpiece, Nassrallah examines Egypt’s political landscape of the 1990s, touching on themes of alienation, surveillance, and economic disparity. This focus on the 1990s points to the rapid shifts that took place in Egypt from the 1950s: embracing socialism and Arab nationalism, then abandoning it for capitalism in the 1970s.
One of his most well-known films, The City (Al-Madina, 1999) explores the dreams and disappoitments of those seeking a better life abroad. The film is one of the first commentaries on the harsh realities of immigrant life. The protagonist, Ali, wants to leave Egypt hoping to find wealth and prosperity in France, but is in conflict with his father, who wants him to go to Saudi Arabia. Ali’s character portrays the struggle between hope and despair, between the lure of a better life and the weight of familial and cultural ties. The film won the Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival.
His adaptation of Elias Khoury’s novel Gate of the Sun (Bab el Shams) is a two-part epic that delves into the Palestinian struggle. This film was a milestone for director in asserting his international presence, and allowed him to directly engage with the political turbulence in the region. The film is a deeply emotional portrayal of displacement, resistance, and love, crafted with profound empathy and sensitivity.
In Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story (Ehky Ya Scheherazade, 2009), Nasrallah takes a strong swipe at gender and power dynamics in Egypt, building a narrative that is centered on female voices and concerns. The main characters unveil multiple layers of patriarchy and social constraints, in themes like arranged marriages, honor-based violence, and domestic abuse. The film was well received by critics, and criticized by conservatives, but its candid portrayal of women’s issues earned it acclaim internationally, making it one of the director’s most impactful works.
Following the democracy-seeking 2011 revolution in Egypt, he directed After the Battle (Baad el Mawkeaa, 2012), which films those impoverished Egyptians who were violated by the Egyptian state, and later turned into informants and thugs to attack protesters. The film follows Mahmoud, a horseman who becomes infamous after being involved in the notorious “Battle of the Camels” attack on protesters in January 2011. At a time when everyone was defending the revolution, Nasrallah was brave enough to investigate the perpetrators of this incident, embodying the hope, frustration, and disillusionment felt by many Egyptians. The film bowed in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
In Brooks, Meadows, and Lovely Faces (Al Ma’ wal Khodra wal Wajh al Hassan, 2016), he returns to exploring family relationships, class divides, and Egyptian cultural values. The film, which had a commercial release for its heavyweight cast, follows a family of chefs in a small Egyptian village. The setting of the story enables him to describe traditional village life with modern societal pressures and the collision of old and new values. The film also is a testament to his versatility as a filmmaker, as he shifts from the heavy political themes of his earlier works to a more subtle, character-driven narrative with a commercial yet serious flavour.
Nasrallah’s films are marked by their stylistic diversity and emotional intensity. He often employs long takes and wide shots to convey a sense of place and to immerse viewers in the landscapes and urban settings of Egypt. His cinematography is painterly, filled with rich colors and textures that evoke the sensuality and vibrancy of Egyptian life. The settings in his films — from bustling Cairo streets to quiet rural villages — are not merely backdrops, but essential components of his storytelling.
