Today in History: Director Ahmed Badrakhan Birthday

CAIRO – 18 October 2017: Today marks the birthday of the legendary director Ahmed Badrakhan.

He was one of Egyptian cinema’s early founders, and he added a number of rewarding contributions to the Egyptian cinema.

Badrakhan was born on October 18, 1909 and died on August 23, 1969.

His love towards cinema started from his early age, and he studied cinematic arts and direction in France.

Having a real passion for cinema, Badrakhan started his career with publishing analytic cinematic articles in "Al Sabah" [The Day] newspaper.

Talaat Harb, the father of the independent Egyptian Economy, asked Badrakhan to write a report regarding the costs of establishing an Egyptian cinema studio for producing spoken films.

In 1934, Badrakhan returned to Egypt after studying cinema, and he wrote his first film, "Wedad".


"Wedad" film – Courtesy of elcinema.com

He was hired as a director at Misr Studio, and he directed "Nasheed El Amal” [Hope Anthem]. "Wedad" and "Nashed El Amal" starred the iconic Egyptian singer Om Kalthoum.

Due to Om Kalthoum's trust, Badrakhan directed all her films except "Salama", which was directed by Togo Mizrahi.

Believing in the national and historical role of leading figures, Badrakhan tried to produce a film about Mostafa Kamel, the leading national figure, but a number of Egyptian officials rejected the film.


"Moustafa Kamel" film

It was screened after the July 23, 1952 revolution.

In 1941, Badrakhan directed the first film for renowned singer and actor Farid El Atrash and Asmahan al-Atrash, "Entesar El Shabab" [Youth Victory].

During the film’s making, Badrkhan got married to Asmahan for only 55 days.


A Scene from "Entesar El Shabab" film

He was part of the “Etehad El Fananen” [Artists Unite] company for film making and production with Helmy Rafla, Amina Rizk and Abdel Halim Nasr.

The company produced more than 40 films.


A Scene from "Sayed Darwish" film

Badrakhan represented more than 40 films, whether as director, writer or producer.

His major films include "Fatma", "Sayed Darwish", "Qabelny ya Aby" [Kiss Me Father], "Akher Kedba" [The Last Lie] and "Ghareeba" [Strange!].

“Nadia” was Badrakhan’s last film.

His son is the legendary director Ali Badrakahn, who directed a number of iconic Egyptian films, such as "El Karnak" and "Shafiqa Wi Metwaly".


"Al-Karnak" Film – Courtesy of elcinema.com