Critic Ahmed Raafat Bahgat
The Alexandria Mediterranean Countries Film Festival has announced plans to honour late Egyptian critic Ahmed Raafat Bahgat in its 35th edition in October 2019.
Bahgat died yesterday morning at age 75. He is remembered for his publications in the field of cinema, including his 1996 book ‘100 years of Egyptian Cinema,’ as well as two books on the influence of Jews on Egyptian and Arab cinema; ‘Jews and Cinema in Egypt,’ and ‘Jews and Cinema in Egypt and the Arab World.’
The festival honours key figures in Egyptian cinema with a biographic publication of their life and work that is made available during the festival.
Alamir Abaza, president of the Alexandria festival, has said they wished to honour Bahgat for his work several times, but the critic had repeatedly refused.
He finally agreed earlier this year, under the condition that critic Magdy El-Tayeb would be the one to write his biography.
Bahgat was born in 1943, and studied Business at Cairo University. His professional life steered him towards the arts, as he worked as a director at the Puppet Theatre, where he directed many plays including Around the World in 80 Days.
Later on he became editor-in-chief of Cinema and Theatre magazine, then of El-Fonoun magazine, a monthly publication of the Acting and Cinema Syndicates Union. He also managed the publications of the Cairo Film Festival for many years.
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