Typecast Releasing is pleased to announce a North American retrospective tour of works by world-renowned Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 82. The jewel of this commemorative series is a restored 35mm film print of Chahine’s 1958 classic, Cairo Station, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. A steamy film noir masterpiece of repressed sexuality, madness and violence set in the city’s central train depot, Cairo Station earned Chahine international recognition and acclaim when it screened at the Berlin Film Festival.
Other 35mm film prints available for the series include The Land, Chahine’s sprawling epic from 1969 which was hailed by critics as the “best Egyptian film of all time” and The Sparrow, which was considered one of Chahine’s most complex and controversial films when it was released in 1972. A pristine new 35mm print of the insightful and lovingly-crafted short documentary, Cairo As Seen By Chahine, is also available for the series. Several of the director’s more popular films will be available in non-35mm formats, such as the riveting musical tragedy The Return of the Prodigal Son (1976) and An Egyptian Story (1982), the wonderfully bizarre centerpiece in Chahine’s autobiographical Alexandria Trilogy.
A prolific, creative and hard-working director, Youssef Chahine will be remembered not only for his imaginative, music-filled works that entertain audiences even as they examine the social and political issues of Egypt, but also for his role in bringing Egyptian cinema to the attention of appreciative movie-goers all around the world.
The Youssef Chahine Retrospective Tour:
* Cleveland, OH . Cairo Station at the Cleveland Cinematheque . Oct. 4, 2008
* New York, NY . Cairo Station at the Museum of Modern Art . Nov. 12 & 15, 2008
* Dearborn, MI . Cairo Station at the Arab American National Museum . Nov. 16, 2008
* Chicago, IL . Chahine Retrospective at the Gene Siskel Film Center . Jan. 2-Feb. 9, 2009
* Boston, MA . Chahine Retrospective at the Harvard Film Archive . Jan. 16-19, 2009
* Durham, NC . Chahine Retrospective at the Duke U. Screen Society . Feb. 2 & 9, 2009
* Berkeley, CA . Cairo Station at the Pacific Film Archive . Feb. 8, 2009
* Fort Worth, TX . Cairo Station at the Modern Art Museum . March 20-22, 2009
* Rochester, NY . Chahine Retrospective at the George Eastman House . April 1-29, 2009
* Brooklyn, NY . Chahine Retrospective at BAM . May 29-June 9, 2009
* Tucson, AZ . Cairo Station at The Loft Cinema . July 12 & 14, 2009
* Columbus, OH . Cairo Station at Wexner Center for the Arts . Oct. 15, 2009
* New York, NY . Chahine Retrospective at the Film Society of Lincoln Center . Nov. 15, 2009
* New Orleans, LA . Cairo Station at the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center . Nov. 21, 2009
* Austin, TX . Chahine Retrospective at the Austin Film Society . Jan. 12 & 19, 2010
* Madison, WI . Chahine Retrospective at the UW Cinematheque . Jan. 23-Feb. 27, 2010
