Cairo Station

"The leading voice of Arab cinema for over half a century."—Guardian

The work of Youssef Chahine, Egypt's most acclaimed filmmaker, is all too seldom screened in the west. So, as a remembrance of his death in July 2008 at the age of 82, we present newly struck prints of two of his unique and classic films. The first of his masterpieces, and banned in Egypt for 12 years, Cairo Station, straddles a wide range of tones and genres in portraying a railroad station that serves as a microcosm for all of Egyptian society. Chahine gives a remarkable performance as a crippled newspaper dealer who becomes hopelessly obsessed with a vivacious lemonade seller. (79 mins., 35mm)

The short film Cairo as Seen by Chahine is both an unflinching examination of the Egyptian capital and a self-portrait of the filmmaker. (22 mins., 35mm)