Samir Farid

Samir Farid (, ) (December 1, 1943 – April 4, 2017) was an Egyptian writer and a world renowned film critic, journalist and film historian based in Cairo. He authored and/or translated over 60 books since 1966 on Egyptian, Arab and World cinema. He was the consultant for Cinema affairs in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. (2001-2016).

He was a member of jury in International film festivals since 1972. (Among them Oberhausen Film Festival 1978, DOC Leipzig Film festival 1984, Annecy International Animated Film Festival 1998, Torino Film Festival 2001, Controcorrente (Upstream section) of Venice Film Festival 2003, Thessaloniki Film Festival 2003 and Taormina Film Festival 2010.)

He also was the Head of The Cairo International Film Festival 2014.

Biography Samir Farid was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1943. He graduated in 1965 from the High Institute of Dramatic Arts, department of Criticism, Academy of Arts. His graduation thesis was entitled "The Meaning of Silence in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett". He also worked as the film Critic of Al-Gomhoreya daily in Cairo since 1965. Since 1967, he has been invited to more than 200 film festivals and seminars in Africa, Asia, USA and Europe.

He was a member of the Board in the Egyptian magazines Al-Cinema (1969) and Al Tali'a (Arabic: الطليعة ) in 1973, the Algerian magazine Al-Shshtan (1979) and the Cypriot magazine Al-Ofok (1987).

He was a co-founder of the National Festival of Short and Documentary films (1970), the National Festival of Feature Films (1971), the Arab Film Critics Union and the Egyptian Film Critics Association, (1972).

Member of FIPRESCI since 1971.

Member of International Jury Boards since 1972.

The editor-in-chief of the Egyptian weekly journal El-Cinema Wa El-Finoun, 1977.

Member of the International Initiating Committee of the General History of Cinema 1982.

The representative of Variety in Cairo 1981–1985.

Member of the Consultative Board of the Minister of Culture, 1989.

The Cinema Supervisor at Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 2001.

Published books Cinema 65, Cairo, 1966 Film Guide 66, Cairo, 1967 U.S.A. Films in the Arab World, Cairo, 1967 Fahrenheit 451 (Film by François Truffaut), Cairo, 1967 The World through the Eye of the Camera (Cinema 66-67), Cairo, 1968 Cinema 69 (Cinema 68-69), Cairo, 1970 Cinema 70, Cairo, 1971 Dictionary of Selected Egyptian Film Directors, Cairo, 1974 October War into Film, Cairo, 1975 On Cannes Festival (1967–1973), Cairo, 1978 Arab Cinema Guide(Arabic-English) (Dossier on Egypt), Cairo, 1978 Arab Cinema Guide(Arabic-English) (Dossier on Iraq), Cairo, 1979 Reflections on Contemporary Cinema, Baghdad, 1979 Studies on Arab Cinema, Beirut, 1981 An introduction to Zionism Cinema, Beirut, 1981 Shakespearean Films, Beirut, 1981 The Identity of the Arab Cinema, Beirut, 1988 Naguib Mahfouz and the Cinema, Cairo, 1990 Dialogue with 24 World Film, Cairo, 1991 Reflections on Chahine's Cinema, Cairo, 1992 The New Realism in Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 1992 Cannes Film Festival (1946–1991), Beirut, 1992 The Arab-Zionism Conflict in Cinema, Cairo, 1992 Cinema of Oppression, Cinema of Liberation, Damascus, 1992 Dialogues With 15 Egyptian Filmmakers, Cairo, 1993 Children's Cinema, Cairo, 1994 Unknown Pages in Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 1994 Faten Hamama, Cairo, 1995 Reflections on Chahine's Cinema (2nd Edition), Cairo, 1997 The Palestinian Cinema in the Occupied Lands, Cairo, 1997 The Contemporary Arab Cinema, Cairo, 1998 The History of the Filmmakers' Syndicate in Egypt, Cairo, 1999 Hassan Imam Omar: The Pillar of the Cinema Press in Egypt, Cairo, 1999 The Writers of Egypt and the Cinema, Cairo, 1999 Directors and Directions in Arab Cinema, Bahrain, 2000 Directors and Directions in Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 2000 Zouzou Hamdi El-Hakim: A Pioneer of Acting and Enlightenment, Cairo, 2000 Stars and Legends in Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 2000 Films in the Shadow, Cairo, 2000 Introduction to the History of Arab Cinema, Cairo, 2000 Introduction to the History of Arab Cinema (Italian), Tunis, 2001 Directors and Directions in American Cinema, Damascus, 2001 The History of Film Censorship in Egypt, Cairo, 2002 Shakespeare, The Screenwriter, Cairo, 2002 Cannes Film Festival Guide (1946–2001), Alexandria, 2002 Studies on the History of Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 2002 Directors and Directions in European Cinema, Damascus, 2003 World Writers and Cinema, Cairo, 2003 Venice Film Festival Guide (1932–2003), Alexandria, 2004 Political Issues on Cinema Screen, Damascus, 2004 The Cinema in the European Union Member States (4 Volumes), Cairo, 2004 Cinema and Arts, Cairo, 2005 The New Wave in Egyptian Cinema, Damascus, 2005