Khairy Beshara


Khairy Beshara is an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since the 1970s. He is considered one of the Egyptian directors who re-defined Realism in Egyptian cinema in the 1980s. In a recent book published by Bibliotheca Alexandrina in 2007 about the most important 100 films in the history of Egyptian cinema, three of his movies were listed: The Collar and the Bracelet, Bitter Day, Sweet Day, and Ice Cream in Gleem.

Biography

Beshara completed his high school in Cairo then joined the Egyptian Higher Institute of Cinema where he graduated in 1967. He then went to Warsaw, Poland on a fellowship for two years where he met his future wife, Monika Kowalczyk. He started his career with a focus on documentaries then moved to feature narratives and directed 12 long features that were screened at various international film festivals. He is one of the first Egyptian and Arab directors to venture into digital film making in the late 1990s.

Filmography

Documentaries and Short Films

TV Series

Tanks Hunter

1974 Leipzig 17th International Festival for Short &Documentary Films for Cinema and Television, Official Entry

1975 Sixth National Festival for Documentary and Short Films, Cairo, Egypt

Best Idea – Khairy Beshara

Best Photography – Mahmoud Abdel Samei
The Village Doctor

1976 The 7th National Festival for Documentary and Short Films, Cairo, Egypt

Golden Prize – Best Film in the category of medium long films

Best Direction & Scenario – Khairy Beshara

Best Photography – M. Abdel Samei

Best Editing – A. Metwally

Best Music – Dr. Youssef Shawki

Best Sound – M. Abdel Muteleb
1976 The Catholic Audio-Visual Center Award

Best Documentary “for its noble message of devoting one’s experience to those who need it.. setting an example for a young doctor working in rural areas”
1976 The Egyptian Association of Cinema Critics

Best Documentary “for its unique treatment in dealing with the Egyptian village and its problems…with awareness and a cinematographic view quite unusual for the Egyptian documentaries”
1976 Leipzig 19th International Film Festival

The International Students Union Festival Award
1978 The Encouragement State Award, The High Council of Arts, Literature

Award of Sciences & Arts of the First Degree
The Sea Gull

1977 The 8th National Festival for Documentary and Short Films, Cairo, Egypt '

Award for Direction & Scenario – Khairy Beshara

Award for Editing – K. Abul Ela
1977 The Egyptian Association of Cinema Critics

Best Documentary concurrently with “Advises of a Wise Man on Rural Affairs & Education” by Daoud Abdel Sayed
Illumination

1978 The 9th National Festival for Documentary and Short Films, Cairo, Egypt '

Best Direction – Khairy Beshara

Best Photography – M. Fadel
Rock Talks

1979 The 10th National Festival for Documentary and Short Films, Cairo, Egypt

Best Editing – Ahmed Metwally
1979 Leipzig 22nd International Festival for Short & Documentary Films for Cinema and Television, Official Entry
1980 Sixth Festival of Egyptian Film

Film Society Award for the Best Short Film
1980 The Egyptian Association of Cinema Critics

Best Documentary concurrently with “Working in the Field” by Daoud Abdel Sayed “for its distinguished creative capacity in expressing the character of the Egyptian Sculptor Abdel Badie Abdel Hay”
1980 The Folk Culture Department

Certificate of Appreciation – K. Beshara “In appreciation of his distinguished efforts and his excellence in the fields of scenario and direction…”
Bloody Destinies

1983 Cinema Prizes Competition, Ministry of Culture, Cairo, Egypt
Best Debut Direction – K. Beshara
House-Boat No. 70

Samir Farid in his book “New Realism in Egyptian Cinema”, 1991.
1982 The Egyptian Association of Cinema Critics

Best Feature Film “because he was able to express the problems of the 70’s generation in a new innovative way which reflects maturity of the new Egyptian Cinema”
1982 First Cairo International Film Festival

First Prize for the Producer
1982 The 35th International Film Festival Cannes
1982 The 18th International Festival for Young Cinematographers, Hyeres, France, Official Entry
1982 First Film Festival for Mediterranean Cultures, Bastia, France, Official Entry
1982 Valencia III International Film Festival for Mediterranean Cultures, Spain, Official Entry
1983 Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Netherlands

It was the First Egyptian film ever to be screened at the Rotterdam festival
1983 Cinema Prizes Competition, Ministry of Culture, Cairo, Egypt

Best Music – Gehad Daoud

Best Supporting Actress – Magda El Khattib
1983 The 9th festival of the Egyptian Film Society

The Special Jury Award for Direction – K. Beshara

Best Photography – M. Abdel Samei

Certificate to the Producer – M. Mostafa
1985 Screened in several Yugoslavian cities on the occasion of cultural events
The Collar & the Bracelet

1985 The 9th Film Festival of the Egyptian Association for Cinematographic Art

Best Direction – K. Beshara
1986 Valencia 7th International Film Festival for Mediterranean Cultures, Spain

Bronze Award
1986 The 11th Cinematographic Days of Carthage, Tunis
1986 The Three Continents Film Festival, Nantes, France
1987 Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Netherlands
1987 Strasbourg 15th Film Festival, France

International Institute of Human Rights within the program “Carte Blanche” of the Egyptian Young Cinema proposed by Mohamed Khan
1987 The 5th Arab Film Festival, Paris, France
1987 The 13th Festival of the Egyptian Film society

Best Film – El Alamia for Cinema & TV production, Hussein El Kalla

Best Direction – K. Beshara

Best Photography – Tarek El Telmessany

Best Editing – Adel Mounir

Best Music – Entessar Abdel Fattah

Best Actress - Sherihan
1987 The Egyptian Association of Cinema Critics
Best Egyptian Feature Film of 1986
1987 The 4th Academic Week for Graduates of the Higher Institute of Cinema, Aswan, Egypt, Best Direction Award
1987 The 5th Damascus Film Festival, Syria
1987 The 11th São Paulo International Film Festival, Brazil
1987 The 31st London Film Festival, United Kingdom
1987 Hollywood on the Nile – The Realists and their films – Egyptian Film in Metropolis Cinema, Hamburg, West Germany
1987 Mediterranean Cinema Festival, Montpellier, France
1989 “The Collar & the Bracelet” Between the Film and Yehia El Taher Abdallah's Novel and the Film's Position in Egyptian Cinema, M.A. Thesis by Beaty Klimkiewicz, Warsaw University, Neofilology Department, Poland
1996 The Centennial of Arab Cinema, Lincoln Center, New York, USA
1996 The 6th Edition of Black Movie, Genève, Switzerland
Sweet Day, Bitter Day

1988 The 12th Cinematographic Days of Carthage, Tunis

Best Actress – Faten Hamama
1988 The Three Continents Film Festival, Nantes, France

Special Mention
1988 “Cinema & Reality of the 80’s in Egypt”, M.A. Thesis by Viola Shafik, Hamburg University, Germany
1989 The 15th Festival of the Egyptian Film Society

Best Actress – Faten Hamama

Best Set Designer – Onsi Abou Seif

Special Mention – Ahmed Hussein
1989 The Egyptian Film Society Survey

Best Film of the year 1988
1989 The Cinema Pharaohs Magazine Survey, Alexandria, Egypt

Best Film of the year 1988
1989 The 12th Cairo Film Festival

The Advertising Prize
1989 Film Fest Munchen, West Germany
1989 The 18th International Festival of Cinema, Figueira da Foz, Portugal
1989 The 3rd International Film Festival, Rabat, Morocco

Special Jury Prize
1989 The 10th Mostra De Valencia, Spain
1989 Montreal World Film Festival, Canada, “Today’s Cinema, Tomorrow’s Cinema” Program
1993 Mostra Internazionale del Nuovo Cinema, Pesaro, Italy
Crabs

1991 Tage des un Abhangizen Films, Augsburg, Germany
1991 The Egyptian Association for Cinematographic Art

Best Direction
1991 The First National Feature Film Festival, Cairo, Egypt

Special Jury Award

Best Actress – Raghda

Best Photography – Mohsen Ahmed
1996 “Mass Culture & Modernism in Egypt” a book by Walter Armbrust, Cambridge University Press.
Wild Desire

1991 Montreal World Film Festival, Canada, “Today’s Cinema, Tomorrow’s Cinema” Program
Ice Cream in Gleem

1993 The 19th Festival of the Egyptian Film Society

Special Jury Award
America Abracadabra

1993 The 11th Damascus Film Festival, Syria
1994 The 4th Pyongyang Film Festival, Korea

The Special Prize of the Juries
1997 The International House of Philadelphia, USA, Contemporary Egyptian Cinema
Traffic Light
1995 The 19th Cairo International Film Festival

Special Jury Prize “Silver Pyramid”
1997 II Cinema Dei Paesi Arabi, Cinema Del Comune Di Bologna, Italy

In the Press