David Farnor | On 19, Jun 2020

Netflix has shining a spotlight on Egyptian director Youssef Chahine with a new collection of classic Arabic films arriving this week.

The streaming giant has acquired a catalogue of 44 movies that blend iconic and contemporary film from the UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Algeria and Sudan. The line-up includes the works of notable directors like Chahine, Youssry Nasrallah, Nadine Labaki, Moustapha Akkad, Anne Marie Jacir, Laila Marrakchi and many more.

The exact films vary from territory to territory, but in the UK that means we get a dozen Chahine movies: Cairo Station, Destiny, Saladin, The Land, The Blazing Sun, Dark Waters, Return of the Prodigal Sun, The Other, Alexandria… Why?, Alexandria Again and Again, An Egyptian Story and The Emigrant. We also get Stray Bullet from Caramel director Nadine Labaki (although Netflix has her listed as “Nadine Labaky”).

“We want more people around the world to have access to great stories and have the chance to see their lives represented on screen. We also believe that great stories come from anywhere and can travel everywhere connecting with audiences far beyond their place or language of origin. We’re honored to share these classic and contemporary films with our members in the Arab world and globally, ” says Nuha El Tayeb, Director, Content Acquisitions, MENAT at Netflix.

Licensed from Front Row Filmed Entertainment, the films include subtitles relevant to those countries where they are streaming in either English, Arabic or French.

They join a collection of comedic plays available through a dedicated row on the service called “Arabic Nostalgia”.

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