» Newsroom » Statements » Death of Egyptian film director Youssef Chahine – Communiqué issued by the (...)
Death of Egyptian film director Youssef Chahine – Communiqué issued by the Presidency of the Republic
Paris, 27 July 2008
The “seventh art” has just lost one of its most famous servants, Youssef Chahine.
Very attached to his Egypt but open to the whole world, a politically committed director, fervent champion of freedom of expression and, more broadly, of individual and collective freedoms, Youssef Chahine sought, throughout his life, through film, to denounce censorship, fanaticism and fundamentalism.
His talent enabled him to develop different forms of artistic expression and tackle every film genre: autobiographical films, historical reconstructions and even musical comedy.
A hugely independent intellectual, Youssef Chahine was a fervent defender of the mixing of cultures./.