World Cinema Series @ National Museum of Singapore
A programme of the National Museum Cinémathèque
Screenings held every second Tuesday of the month
National Museum, Gallery Theatre, Basement
8pm
S$8 (S$6.40 concession)

World Cinema Series @ National Museum of Singapore

World Cinema Series is a monthly screening of works by the boldest and most inventive auteurs in the history of cinema.

This series charts both the significant and less discovered territories of cinema - from the early silent era to underground films, and new wave film movements around the world, by some of the greatest mavericks and artists of film. Discover the wonders and possibilities of the art of cinema on the big screen – as it was meant to be seen – with the World Cinema Series, shown every second Tuesday of the month at the National Museum of Singapore. The series started in September with the screening of Imamura Shohei’s stunning epic, The Profound Desire of the Gods (1968). Look out for King Hu’s A Touch of Zen (1971) in November.

9 October 2007

Cairo Station / Bab el hadid
Dir: Youssef Chahine
1958 / Egypt / 74 min / 35 mm / PG
(In Arabic with English subtitles)

Denounced by Egyptian audiences when it was first released in 1958, Youssef Chahine's Cairo Station was banned by the authorities for twelve years and was only later rediscovered and recognised as one of the first, great masterpieces of Egyptian cinema.

The story recounts the doomed passion of a crippled newspaper seller Kinawi, played by Chahine himself, who falls in love with the voluptuous Hanuma, but she is engaged to the tough and hardworking porter Abu Sri. When Kinawi tries to woo Hanuma with an offer of a simple life in the village with cows and children, she rebukes him with the line, "We've gotten used to trains and noise." The rejection inadvertently enflames Kinawi’s obsession and further weakens his grip on reality as he descends into a spiral of jealousy, psychosis and violence.

Incorporating elements of neo-realism, melodrama, comedy and film noir, the movie uses the location of Cairo’s central station to represent a cross-section of the Egyptian society caught in a collision between tradition and modernity. Made in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, Cairo Station is a striking commentary on the duality and division in Egyptian society of that time. It had a huge influence on African and Arab cinema, introducing neo-realism into an industry previously dominated by musicals. The film was nominated for a Golden Bear at the 1958 Berlin International Film Festival.

Youssef Chahine
One of Egypt’s most eminent and controversial filmmakers, Youssef Chahine has a prodigious output of over forty films and a career spanning over more than five decades in Egyptian cinema. In 1951, he made his first two films Father Amine / Baba Amin and Son of the Nile / Ibn el Nil. With his second film, he was nominated for the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.
Chahine gained international attention with Cairo Station / Bab el hadid (1958), creating a furore in Egypt with its stark depiction of repression and sexuality within the lower class. Many of Chahine’s films like Saladin / El-Naser Salah el Dine (1963) and The Land / Al-Ard (1969) are often mentioned in many critics’ list of the greatest Egyptian films made.
In 1997, his work was honoured at the 50th Cannes Film Festival with a lifetime achievement award. He is also credited for discovering some of the most prominent Egyptian actors and actresses like Omar Sharif and Nadia Lutfi.

13 November 2007

A Touch of Zen
Dir: King Hu
1969 / Taiwan / 187 min / 35 mm / PG
Mandarin with English subtitles

11 December 2007

Killer of Sheep
Dir: Charles Burnett
1977/ USA / 83 min / 35 mm / Rating TBC

Please book tickets online at www.nationalmuseum.sg (go to Online Booking Page) or at our Visitor Services Counter at the National Museum of Singapore

Co-presented by the National Museum of Singapore and the Singapore Film Society

Photo Courtesy of National Museum of Singapore. All Rights reserved.