Last week, Semiramis hosted a ceremony in which Egyptian diva Soad Hosney sat next to star Roshdi Abaza, side by side with his fellow movie icon Salah Zulficar.

Black and White is a festive celebration created to honour the divas of the golden era of Egyptian cinema.Family members were asked to come on stage with large pictures of the stars they represent in order to be honoured.

The ceremony honoured the contributions of late stars like Lebanese diva Sabah, renowned Egyptian dancer and actress Tahia Karioka, and iconic actors Emad Hamdy, Estifan Rosti, Adel Khairy, Salah Nazmi, Salah Qabil and many more.

Soad Hosni

Veteran actress Ragaa El-Gedawi gave a touching speech explaining that she was proud to be raised by a dancer, in reference to her aunt, the late Tahia Karioka. “She taught me that a lie is the doorway to all sins, and if people see anything good about me, it’s because of what she taught me,” she said.

Ragaa El-Gedawi

This is the second event to honour such stars and is the brainchild of Nabil Rizk, the regional director of the United Artists Association (UNARTS), which was created in California in 2014 with an aim to commemorate and honour the Egyptian stars of our silver screen.The NGO gathers 83 family members, each representing a movie star.

“We are focused on movie stars of the black and white era,” explained Rizk, adding that UNARTS aims to revive the heritage of such artists in the form of monthly seminars and creating a museum dedicated to their belongings.

Ashraf El-Barouni, UNARTS spokesperson during the event, said that UNARTS aims at “creating documentaries about them, beholding a valuable library of their work, a venue to replay their works, and creating a pension and an elderly home for those who are in need.”

However, the association’s big ambitions may unfortunately be tied down by red tape.“Despite being granted all the required permits to start its work in Egypt, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture is the only government entity that did not respond to our request despite all our efforts,” Rizk said.

During the festivity, a short film was shown where the children of the stars got to talk to their parents in a black and white scene that revealed another dilemma that actors fall into.“Intellectual property rights of performing artists are not claimed in Egypt,” was the message of the film, unlike the case of their fellow Authors, Composers and Publishers of the Arabic Republic of Egypt (SACERAU), which celebrated 70 years since its establishment as well as 70 years of fighting for intellectual property rights, in December 2015.