Legendary Egyptian screenwriter Bashir El Deek dies at 80

Ahram Online , Wednesday 1 Jan 2025

Egyptian screenwriter and director Bashir El Deek died on Tuesday at 80.

El-Deek

 

El Deek, born on 27 July 1944 in Damietta, earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the Faculty of Commerce at Cairo University in 1966.

At a young age, El Deek published short stories in various Egyptian and Arab publications.

In 1978, he wrote his first screenplay for Ma’aa Sabq Al Issrar, a film directed by Ashraf Fahmy and starring Mahmoud Yassin, Nour El-Sherif, and Mervat Amin.

In 1979, he co-wrote scripts for Investigation Still Ongoing and And The Sorrows Pass.

Slowly establishing his name as one of the most talented screenwriters, El Deek penned scripts for over 50 films and 20 TV series in a lustrous career that spanned nearly half a century.

His memorable films included El-Hareef (1982), directed by Mohamed Khan and starring Adel Emam; The Story of Half a Million Dollars (1988), directed by Saad Arafa and starring Yehia El-Fakharani and Elham Shahin; and Youssef and Zeinab (1984), directed by Mohamed Khan and starring Farouk El-Fishawy and Laila Elwi.

He also collaborated with director Atef El-Tayeb in several unforgettable gems, including The Bus Driver (1982) and Hot Night (1995), starring Nour El-Sherif; and The Escape (1991) and Against the Government (1992), starring Ahmed Zaki.


El Deek (C) with Atef El-Tayyeb (R) and Mohamed Khan (L)

 

Other known titles include The Woman From Cairo (1992), starring Youssra; A Woman Who Shook The Throne of Egypt (1995) and Mission in Tel Aviv (1992), starring Nadia El-Gendy; and Al-Kibar (2010), starring Amr Saad.

His TV series feature titles include The Excavator (1996), The People of the Askar Hamlet (2003), Spies War (2009), and The Flood (2017).

He also wrote the script for and directed several films, including Traveller’s Way (1987), starring Nour El Sherif and El-Toufan (1989), starring Mahmoud Abdel Aziz.

El Deek has also penned animation scripts, including The Knight and The Princess (2020), which he co-directed.

The screenwriter was laid to rest today in his home town of Damietta.

The wake will be held on Thursday at the Police Mosque in Sheikh Zayed (Al-Wahab Hall).

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