Yosra el-Lozy recalls working with Youssef Chahine

CAIRO – 30 November 2018: “Chahine mainly focuses on the actor and how to give him confidence,” Yosra el-Lozy said on On-E.

Rembering shooting “Askndrya-New york” with Youssef Chahine in 2004, Lozy said: “I was totally afraid of him, but he was like a child full of energy.”

Lozy added: “I have learnt from him how to be a professional actor. Chahine was completely different; his works had social and political dimensions.”

Chahine, or “The Professor” as dubbed by his students, has been considered one of Egypt’s greatest directors, having filmed a wide variety of movies for over five decades.
Chahine worked as an actor, producer, director, writer and photographer in most of his movies, especially after getting international recognition.

His status gave him freedom and immunity from the rigid social, artistic and political movements in the Egyptian society.

Chahine's political movies represent significant landmarks in his career, from “Gamila Bohrid”, where he portrayed the life of the legendary Algerian activist to “Salah el-Din the Victorious”, where he presented the story of the famous Arab leader who beat the third crusade.

In “Al Asfoor” (The Sparrow), he showed the dark side of the regime in persecuting opposition members.

“Adieu Bonaparte” is another landmark in his career, as he depicted the period when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied Egypt and how the encounter with western culture affected the Egyptian society.

One of Chahine’s most famous quotes is “I make films first for myself, then for my family, then for Alexandria, then for Egypt… If the Arab world likes them, ahlan wa sahlan (they are welcome).

If the foreign audience likes them, they are also welcome.”

Ten years ago, Chahine passed away after devoting his life to cinema and movie-making. Joe, as his friends used to call him, is the most famous Egyptian director in western circles.