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Controversial screenwriter scoops up award for a lifetime of compelling cinema
World renowned Egyptian writer Wahid Hamed, will receive this year’s Arab Lifetime Achievement Award for his life’s work writing powerful screenplays, the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) confirmed Wednesday.
Hamed’s four decade career has made him one of Egypt’s most recognised names in North African cinema.
Wahid Hamed is known for his breakthrough television series ‘Dreams of the Fly Boy’ (1978), which marked the start of a successful cinematic duo with popular Egyptian movie star Adel Imam.
Their iconic 1992 black comedy Terrorism and Kebab (Al Erhab wel Kabab), exposes government corruption and the working class of Egypt, through the eyes of a family man accused of terrorism after his frustration with bureaucracy lands him in a hostage situation.
His political TV drama, Muslim Brotherhood (Al Gama’a), struck a nerve among supporters of the banned group in the run-up to the 2010 Egyptian government elections.
The two also teamed up for critically acclaimed movie ‘The Yacoubian Building’ (2006) starring Omar Sharif. Based on a famous novel of the same title by Alaa Al Aswany that exposed the sordid underbelly of Cairo’s streets, a portrayal littered with corruption, fundamentalism, prostitution, homosexuality, and drugs.
His controversial drama ‘Al Baree’ (1997) written in the mid-80s, was released 19 years after it won a lengthy censorship battle.
It tells the story of a brainwashed Egyptian army recruit deceived into thinking political activists are his homeland enemies.
Hamed said he looked forward to receiving his accoldate at this year's DIFF.
“I am very touched to receive this prestigious award from the Dubai International Film Festival and look forward to accepting the award in person in Dubai this December.”
Previous winners of DIFF’s Lifetime Achievement Awards include Gabriel Yared, Samuel L Jackson, Sami Bouajila, Omar Sharif, Morgan Freeman, Sean Penn, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.
The 14th edition of the Dubai International Film Fest runs from December 6 – 13.
