Chadi Abdel Salam

  • Chadi Abdel Salam – El-Fallâh el-fasîh AKA The Eloquent Peasant (1970)

    1961-1970Chadi Abdel SalamEgyptShort Film

    Synopsis
    Based on one of the major literary texts survived from the Middle Kingdom, the classical period of Egyptian literature, The Eloquent Peasant is a combination of a morality/folk tale and a poem. The events are set between 2160 and 2025 BC. When the peasant Khun-anup and his donkey stumble upon the lands of the noble Rensi, the peasant’s goods are confiscated and he’s unjustly accused of theft. The peasant petitions Rensi who is so taken by the peasant’s eloquence that he report his astonishing discovery to the king. The king realizes the peasant has been wronged but delays judgment so as to he can hear more of his eloquence. The peasant makes a total of nine petitions until finally, his goods are returned.Read More »

  • Chadi Abdel Salam – Al-mummia AKA The Night of Counting the Years (1969)

    1961-1970Chadi Abdel SalamDramaEgyptMystery

    In the late 1800s, an isolated Egyptian mountain clan sustains itself by exploiting Egypt’s ancient heritage, secretly raiding the tombs of the Pharaohs in Thebes. “One of the greatest Egyptian films ever made, Al-Mummia has an extremely unusual tone – stately, poetic, with a powerful grasp of time and the sadness it carries. The carefully measured pace, the almost ceremonial movement of the camera, the classical Arabic spoken on the soundtrack, the unsettling score by the great Italian composer Mario Nascimbene – they all work in perfect harmony… This picture has a sense of history like no other, and in the end, the film is strangely, even hauntingly consoling – the final understanding of who and what we are” (Martin Scorsese).Read More »

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