When you watch Elizabeth Taylor's movie
"Cleopatra"; the only image you'd get about the movie is her golden
dress, the fascinating dress that still takes my breath away as if I see it for
the first time. The whole credit of this dress goes to the genius designer Shady
Abdel Salam.
Shady Abdel Salam…
Shady Abdel Salam is an Egyptian director
and designer; who was born in Alexandria on March 15, 1930. He got graduated
from Victoria College on 1948, and then he went to London where he studied theatre
arts till 1950. When he got back to Egypt; he joined faculty of fine arts in
Cairo, where the famous Alexandrian architect "Hassan Fathy" taught
him the Islamic architecture arts. But, he was in love of ancient Egypt...
Contributions in Cinema
Abdel Salam joined the cinema world as a
décor designer, as his career officially started launched by taking part in
designing the mise en scene of the Polanyi movie "The Pharaoh" that
was directed by Kavlirovich. He also joined as a co-director and clothes
designer in some of the most famous movies in the history of cinema like the
Egyptian movie "Waa Islamaah", the Italian movie "The
civilization", and the American movie "Cleopatra". (The golden
dress I know ♥)
Genius Director!!
Shady was also a great director as he directed
few movies himself, as he made some of the most important short movies in
cinema like "Armies of the Sun" in 1974, "The Golden Chair of
Tut Ankh Amun", and "The Eloquent Peasant" in1970, which tells a
story of a ancient Egyptian peasant who was brave enough to tell his complains to
the Pharaoh without fear. He also directed long movies like "The Night of Counting Years" a.k.a. "The Mummy" that won lots of awards in many global film festivals.
The Mummy…
"The Mummy" is considered Abdel Salam's
masterpiece, and considered a highlight in the Egyptian cinema, as it's the 3rd
in the order of the most important 100 movies in the history of Egyptian cinema
in the past century. The movie treats the "identity" problem and how
to preserve the Egyptian heritage and identity.
"The visual impact the film leaves on the spectator is ever-lasting as
Abdel Salam aimed at expressing the essence of things and sought
artistic narration through image, architecture, light and colour rather
than through dramatic action, literary narration or linguistic
dialogues. The abstraction, silence, slow rhythm, and dignified
movement of the actors allow the spectator to focus on the visual
elements and reflect on their dramatic value. Moreover, Abdel Salam’s
choice of classical Arabic contributed to the monumental influence of
the film which stands out as a great epic peopled with larger-than-life
characters." as mentioned on Bibliotheca Alexandrina's website.
Unaccomplished dream...
Shady's next massive project after "The Mummy" was "Akhenaton"; that was never completed because of the lack of Egyptian financing for it. He spent 12 years in preparing, doing intensive researches, designing and carrying out the clothes in his own atelier. Although he received lots of offers from foreigner producers, but he insisted that this work had to be a pure Egyptian art work.
Message
Shady Abdel Salam had lived for a certain goal, he aimed at preserving the Egyptian history and make the coming generations aware of it with the simplest means for them. He showed his message in each and every detail in any work he had contributed in. He died in October 8, 1986 because of cancer, without finishing his
"I think that the people of my country are ignorant of our history and I feel that it is my mission to make them know some of it and let the others go on with the rest. I regard cinema not as a consumerist art, but as a historical document for next generations." ~Shady Abdel Salam
