Cairo-Berlin Return: Early Arab-German Cooperation in Film – The Egyptian-German Example

Abstract

The Arab-German cooperation in film began after World War I in 1919/1920 when the first Egyptians came to learn the then brand new art in Germany, and has been continuing with different Arab partners ever since. Yet there is neither a public nor a professional awareness of this history. When Arab and German film professionals meet at international co-production platforms today, they practically get together as strangers. Despite its richness, the common history does not serve as a point of reference. It is not written. This paper, therefore, attempts to shed light on this forgotten period of cooperation. It looks at how and why such a collaboration was initiated. Moreover, it describes its different formats and also why the Egyptian-German encounter eventually came to an end.

Keywords

• cinema
• pioneers
• sound-movies
• weimar republic
• egypt
• anti-colonial liberation
• international co-production
• transnational cooperation