The documentary “The Life and Times of Omar Sharif” traces the life of actor Omar Sharif, a true cinema icon in Egypt and “one of the few Arab actors to have been successful in Hollywood”. Presented at the Copenhagen DOX: CPH Festival, the documentary traces how President Nasser’s policies in the 1950’s shaped Sharif’s career.
For Egyptian film-maker Mark Lotfy and Swedish director Axel Petersén, long time collaborators, Omar Sharif is intriguing:
“We realized we had two very, very different perceptions of Omar Sharif. I, coming from the West, saw him as a Hollywood superstar, a playboy, a glamorous man, while Mark, representing the East and Egypt, had a completely different point of view. He saw him as a persona non grata, an Egyptian Judas. We couldn’t figure it out. How could our views be so different?”
Omar Sharif, an “ideological vessel”
Son of Syrian-Lebanese immigrants, Sharif grew up in Alexandria and was spotted at the age of 21 by Youssef Chahine. He landed his first role in “Ciel d’enfer” in 1954 and quickly became a star of the big screen in his own country. “Refusing to conform to the nationalism then sweeping Egypt,” Lofty told Variety, Sharif flew to Hollywood. In his 60-year career the actor, known for his love of bridge and horse racing, toured the world, winning a number of awards: an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in “Lawrence of Arabia”, the Golden Globe for Best Actor in 1965 for his role in “Doctor Zhivago”, and the César for Best Actor in 2004. He died in 2015 in Cairo at the age of 83.
Sharif – real name Michel Chalhoub – was a real “ideological vessel” for Lofty and Petersen, a kind of “reflective surface for understanding the East-West conflict of the last century.” His life epitomises “the politics of his time,” they report to Variety.
For more information on the audiovisual news in Egypt, click here.
The Life and Times of Omar Sharif
Sources: arabnews.fr, moroccojewishtimes.com, gala.fr, liberation.fr, variety.com
