The book "The Era of the Cinema Club" by Amir Al-Amri, published by the Egyptian General Book Authority, delves deep into the experience of the cinema club in Cairo. An experience that the author believes is the most refined, complete, and deeply rooted of all similar cinema club experiences. He recounts his memories and impressions from the 1970s when he was closely connected to the Cinema Club experience and was still a university student. He often refers to the volumes of the cinema club's newsletter that he has owned since the club's inception.

The Seventies: A Time of Cultural and Political Activity

The writer states: "I still see that the seventies, specifically, were the most vibrant era, not just for the Cinema Club's activities but for Egyptian culture as a whole. (p. 6) History reveals that after the events of June 1967, Egypt never returned to its previous state. This led to a significant reconsideration in political and cultural life concerning many slogans, ideas, and values instilled since 1952. Thus, it was no coincidence that this era saw a call for a new cinema, not only in Egypt but also in Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. (p. 6) Following the events of 1967, university students sought new sources of knowledge outside official frameworks, leading to student-organized cultural forums. The idea of the cinema club emerged from the heart of this cultural activity. This idea originally came from official bodies to channel the youth's frustrations and aspirations, which could no longer be tamed as before. Especially when critic Mustafa Darwish took charge of cinema censorship and more, he was open to European cinematic experiences, making the main Cinema Club in Cairo highly influential. As a result, many other cinema clubs emerged in Egyptian universities and professional unions, leading to a cinema club movement in the provinces, which the author dedicated a special annex of the book to.

Beginnings of the Cinema Clubs

Before delving into the Cinema Club in Cairo, the author addresses the beginnings of cinema clubs worldwide. The concept first appeared in April 1907 when Edmond Benoit-Levy founded the "Film Club" at 5 Monanertr Street in Paris. The club aimed to preserve all cinema-related documents, information, pictures, and had a screening hall for movies. (p. 11) The history continues as French director and critic Louis Delluc founded the first film society in 1918. Ricciotto Canudo established a film society in Italy in 1920. The goal of cinema clubs from their inception was to showcase experimental, avant-garde, and classic old films. Notably, the London Film Society laid the foundation for the later "British Film Institute". The Cinema Club project stands out as an ambitious initiative of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, established in 1968, following the founding of the National Center for Documentary Films in the previous year, 1967. At the onset of the Cinema Club, when critic Mustafa Darwish managed it, he faced many challenges with the rise of the representatives of the political Islam stream. They announced numerous objections in the National Assembly. (The Egyptian intellectuals disappointed Mustafa Darwish and no one stood by his side in his fight against the forces of darkness, so he was dismissed from his position. P. 19) When the club announced its opening at the start of its establishment, five thousand members applied for membership, under the assumption that the club would screen banned films containing sexual scenes. However, the ministry clarified that only films with high artistic value would be shown. The author touches upon this beginning, mentioning films that were shown in its first season (1968-1969) like the Swedish movie "Persona" or Mask by Bergman, and the Soviet film "The First Teacher" directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, which is considered a masterpiece of Soviet cinema. From the Arabic films, "The Thirsty Ones" by director Mohamed Shukri Jamil, "Men in the Sun" by three directors from Syria, and "Letters from Two Jails" by Abdel Latif Ben Ammar from Tunisia were screened.

Tracing the club's history, after the stabilization of its activities, the weekly shows moved from the American University hall to the "Opera" cinema in downtown Cairo, which was one of the most beautiful cinemas in Cairo.

The main Cinema Club in Cairo, which appeared in 1968, didn't emerge out of the blue. The first gathering was in the 1950s, through the "Selected Film Seminar" established by the creative writer Yahya Haqqi when he was the president of what was then called the Arts Service, founded in 1955.

Historically, Dr. Naji Fawzi, a professor of cinematic criticism at the Academy of Arts, mentions in his book "The Egyptian Catholic Center for Cinema and Fifty Years of Cinematic Culture" that the real beginning of cinema clubs in Egypt goes back to historian and film critic Farid El-Mazawi, who is considered their spiritual father. He founded the "Film Club" at the Catholic Center for Cinema and then some cinema clubs in some neighborhoods of Cairo in 1945.

Amid Intellectual Currents and the Issue of Sexuality:

The book then introduces us to those who wrote about cinema during that period: Sami El-Salamouni, Samir Farid, Fathi Farag, and explains that the role of the film critic was different then. Film criticism in the 1970s specifically was trying to change the "prevailing cinema." Calls for "new cinema" took an aggressive tone. Film critics were ideologically divided into two schools, a leftist stream including Sami El-Salamouni, Fathi Farag, Samir Fouda, Rafik El-Saban, Mustafa Darwish, Sobhi Shafik, and Kamal Ramzi. There was also what can be considered a rightist stream, or closer to the center and right, including: Ahmed El-Hadari, Ahmed Raafat Bahgat, Samir Seif, Ahmed Rashid, and Fawzi Suleiman, but it wasn't regressive right; it was enlightened and educated. (P. 47,48, paraphrased).

The book points out the third issue of the "Theatre and Cinema" magazine in March 1968, No. 51. This issue featured a seminar hosted by Minister of Culture, Tharwat Okasha, including a number of filmmakers and writers discussing the problems of film production in Egypt, especially public sector production. It also tackled the issue of sexuality in Egyptian cinema (this happened when the voices of the extremist current, cloaked in religion and draped in Islam, rose in the wake of the defeat that occurred in 1967. This defeat was seen by the Islamic current and its representatives as a result of straying from religion P. 55). Interestingly, the House of Representatives held a session to discuss the issue of sexuality in films on February 21, 1968. Saad El-Din Wahba comments, "Coincidentally, Naguib Mahfouz sat directly opposite a member of the House of Representatives." When the member spoke about the film "Palace of Desire", he attacked its director Hassan El-Imam vehemently, concluding his attack by saying, "He is neither good nor a preacher (Imam)". When Mustafa Darwish, the head of censorship, was mentioned, the member turned to the Minister of Culture and said, "We want a real Darwish." It appears that the cinema club was affected by the attack against the movie "Palace of Desire" (one of the members confronted it, launching a fierce critique deeming it immoral, corrupt, and a place for airing inappropriate movies). However, the Minister of Culture defended the cinema club and corrected the misconceptions some people held based on what had been disseminated about the club. (p. 58).

End Signs

The signs of the decline of the cinematic renaissance became evident when President Sadat announced in an official speech that the nationalization policy for many activities was no longer suitable for the era. One of the first decisions made after Sadat came to power was to dissolve the public cinema sector, then represented by the cinema institution. Sadat ridiculed it, asking, "Should the state sell cinema tickets?" (p. 44).

In early 1973, the cinema club faced a challenge from the General Authority for Theater and Cinema affiliated with the state. They demanded the club pay rent for the cinema hall based on commercial rates, nearly eight times what the club was actually paying. Strangely, the renowned cinema producer Takvor Antounian was inciting the authority to evict the cinema club from its headquarters. This was because his movie "Beware of Zouzou" began screening at the same cinema starting in November 1972 and was witnessing significant audience turnout. He didn’t want the club to deprive him of the income from the Wednesday 9 pm show! (p. 74).

1973 was the year of political cinema in Egypt. The writer recalls that the cinema club started the year by screening "Visitor of Dawn" by Mamdouh Shukri on January 31, 1973. This movie portrayed a defeated society. Just before this, the club had shown one of the most potent Italian movies, "The Inquiry is Over... Forget the Topic" by Damiano Damiani. The club continued to screen political movies during an intense period in Egypt. Later, the club would show one of the most influential political movies ever, "The Mattei Affair" by Francesco Rosi, a pioneer of the political stream in Italian cinema. The writer also mentions a film "The Bullet is Still in My Pocket" under a separate title "The Year of the Bullet".

By mid-1977, the tenth year of the club's existence, due to the new policy adopted by President Sadat, the state ceased direct film production. The club's expenses rose, leading to a clear deficit in its budget. The club couldn’t exchange films with other cinema clubs in different countries because it didn't have a film archive for such exchanges (p.182). In 1993, the club's journey came to an end.

A fascinating journey is traced by the book "The Cinema Era" through periodic newsletters, movie screenings, critiques, and their relationship to societal changes. It also delves into various cinematic phenomena, movies, and important cinematic figures, leaving the reader with a fulfilling cinematic dose.