Joseph Fahim
@josephfahim.bsky.social
I do a whole bunch of things in cinema as my overlong futile search for home drags on.
Pinned
Joseph Fahim
@josephfahim.bsky.social
· May 16
Cairo Station
Youssef Chahine established his international reputation with this masterpiece, which, though initially a commercial failure in Egypt, would become one of the most influential and celebrated works in ...
www.criterion.com
News is finally out. Ladies and gentlemen, the very first Egyptian film in @criterion.bsky.social
And for the first time, the restored version of Cairo as Seen by Chahine.
Honoured to have two video interviews on the disc, along with the accompanying essay.
www.criterion.com/films/32722-...
And for the first time, the restored version of Cairo as Seen by Chahine.
Honoured to have two video interviews on the disc, along with the accompanying essay.
www.criterion.com/films/32722-...
Reposted by Joseph Fahim
Feed: "Current | The Criterion Collection"
By: Joseph Fahim on Thursday, January 22, 2026
By: Joseph Fahim on Thursday, January 22, 2026
Chronicle of the Years of Fire: Chronicle of a Nation in Revolt
A singular achievement in Arab film history, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina’s sweeping political epic is a memorial to the lives lost in the struggle for Algerian independence.
www.criterion.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Feed: "Current | The Criterion Collection"
By: Joseph Fahim on Thursday, January 22, 2026
By: Joseph Fahim on Thursday, January 22, 2026
My @criterion.bsky.social essay on Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina's revolutionary masterpiece "Chronicle of the Years of the Fire" is out.A big thank you for my wonderful editor Imogen Sara Smith.
This is the second Arab film to join the collection in less than a year.
www.criterion.com/current/post...
This is the second Arab film to join the collection in less than a year.
www.criterion.com/current/post...
Chronicle of the Years of Fire: Chronicle of a Nation in Revolt
A singular achievement in Arab film history, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina’s sweeping political epic is a memorial to the lives lost in the struggle for Algerian independence.
www.criterion.com
January 27, 2026 at 7:15 PM
My @criterion.bsky.social essay on Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina's revolutionary masterpiece "Chronicle of the Years of the Fire" is out.A big thank you for my wonderful editor Imogen Sara Smith.
This is the second Arab film to join the collection in less than a year.
www.criterion.com/current/post...
This is the second Arab film to join the collection in less than a year.
www.criterion.com/current/post...
On the life and work of the late Daoud Abdel Sayed, the most soulful, most reflective, most singular filmmaker of Egypt's 80ies realist movement, who passed away last month.
Immensely proud of this piece.
For @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social
www.middleeasteye.net/discover/dao...
Immensely proud of this piece.
For @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social
www.middleeasteye.net/discover/dao...
Daoud Abdel Sayed: Why the late Egyptian filmmaker was so important
Abdel Sayed's 1991 classic Kit Kat, about an unruly blind man from the working-class Cairo neighbourhood, is one of Egypt's most loved movies
www.middleeasteye.net
January 23, 2026 at 6:43 PM
On the life and work of the late Daoud Abdel Sayed, the most soulful, most reflective, most singular filmmaker of Egypt's 80ies realist movement, who passed away last month.
Immensely proud of this piece.
For @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social
www.middleeasteye.net/discover/dao...
Immensely proud of this piece.
For @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social
www.middleeasteye.net/discover/dao...
In my January Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture column, I tried to go for something more cheerful and lighthearted. Alas, it didn't turn out as such.
www.albustanseeds.org/news/2026hop...
www.albustanseeds.org/news/2026hop...
Cinema, Etcetera | My Six Hopes for Arab Cinema in 2026 — Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
By Joseph Fahim What Arab cinema needs now is not decorative Oscar recognition, but sustained community engagement and inventive, grassroots marketing strategies.
www.albustanseeds.org
January 19, 2026 at 8:41 PM
In my January Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture column, I tried to go for something more cheerful and lighthearted. Alas, it didn't turn out as such.
www.albustanseeds.org/news/2026hop...
www.albustanseeds.org/news/2026hop...
Alright folks. Here's my @sightsoundmag.bsky.social review of "The Voice of Hind Rajab," now available online.
www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-so...
www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-so...
The Voice of Hind Rajab review
Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama about the killing of five-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab is undeniably powerful, but the decision to use the child’s real voice within its genre-inflected narrative rem...
www.bfi.org.uk
January 16, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Alright folks. Here's my @sightsoundmag.bsky.social review of "The Voice of Hind Rajab," now available online.
www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-so...
www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-so...
Most memorable image of the day: a relative listening to Mamdani’s inauguration speech and shaking their head in dismay.
Someone pays me to do that movie already!
Someone pays me to do that movie already!
January 2, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Most memorable image of the day: a relative listening to Mamdani’s inauguration speech and shaking their head in dismay.
Someone pays me to do that movie already!
Someone pays me to do that movie already!
Reposted by Joseph Fahim
The President’s Cake is our favourite movie of 2025. Here are 11 other standouts - https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/presidents-cake-our-favourite-movie-2025-here-are-11-other-standouts
The best 12 movies from Middle East and Arab cinema in 2025
Hasan Hadi’s odyssey follows a schoolgirl tasked with baking a birthday cake for Saddam Hussein
www.middleeasteye.net
December 30, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The President’s Cake is our favourite movie of 2025. Here are 11 other standouts - https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/presidents-cake-our-favourite-movie-2025-here-are-11-other-standouts
Last film I saw on the big screen in 2025. And once again, cried my eyes out.
January 1, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Last film I saw on the big screen in 2025. And once again, cried my eyes out.
Alrighty folks, here's my annual best Middle Eastern movies of the year list for @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social, featuring works by Hasan Hadi, Yanis Koussim, Kamal Aljafari. Ali Asgari, among others.
www.middleeasteye.net/discover/pre...
www.middleeasteye.net/discover/pre...
The best 12 movies from Middle East and Arab cinema in 2025
Hasan Hadi’s odyssey follows a schoolgirl tasked with baking a birthday cake for Saddam Hussein
www.middleeasteye.net
December 30, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Alrighty folks, here's my annual best Middle Eastern movies of the year list for @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social, featuring works by Hasan Hadi, Yanis Koussim, Kamal Aljafari. Ali Asgari, among others.
www.middleeasteye.net/discover/pre...
www.middleeasteye.net/discover/pre...
Reposted by Joseph Fahim
Brigitte Bardot was alive + beautiful, but she failed to use her power to learn about what was happening in France.
In her fancy world, this icon spent decades endorsing wildy anti-islam, sometimes holocaust-denying, anti-gay people.
Put her in headlines, but call her out for her lack of humanity.
In her fancy world, this icon spent decades endorsing wildy anti-islam, sometimes holocaust-denying, anti-gay people.
Put her in headlines, but call her out for her lack of humanity.
December 29, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Brigitte Bardot was alive + beautiful, but she failed to use her power to learn about what was happening in France.
In her fancy world, this icon spent decades endorsing wildy anti-islam, sometimes holocaust-denying, anti-gay people.
Put her in headlines, but call her out for her lack of humanity.
In her fancy world, this icon spent decades endorsing wildy anti-islam, sometimes holocaust-denying, anti-gay people.
Put her in headlines, but call her out for her lack of humanity.
Nothing in western press was written about the passing of Daoud Abdel Sayed, the iconic Egyptian filmmaker whose work remain completely unknown outside the Arab World.
At home though, he was one of the most singular voices of the post-Infitah era.
webdo.tn/en/actualite...
At home though, he was one of the most singular voices of the post-Infitah era.
webdo.tn/en/actualite...
Daoud Abdel Sayed, a Major Voice of Egyptian Cinema, Dies at 79
Egyptian filmmaker Daoud Abdel Sayed died on December 27, 2025, in Cairo. He was 79. With his passing, Egyptian cinema
webdo.tn
December 29, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Nothing in western press was written about the passing of Daoud Abdel Sayed, the iconic Egyptian filmmaker whose work remain completely unknown outside the Arab World.
At home though, he was one of the most singular voices of the post-Infitah era.
webdo.tn/en/actualite...
At home though, he was one of the most singular voices of the post-Infitah era.
webdo.tn/en/actualite...
Missing from most worst films of 2025 lists is Lotfy Nathan’s The Carpenter’s Son, yet another catastrophic attempt by Middle Eastern filmmakers to crack Hollywood.
December 26, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Missing from most worst films of 2025 lists is Lotfy Nathan’s The Carpenter’s Son, yet another catastrophic attempt by Middle Eastern filmmakers to crack Hollywood.
Reposted by Joseph Fahim
Such a great interview and profile.
Rest in power, Mohammad Bakri.
Rest in power, Mohammad Bakri.
December 24, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Such a great interview and profile.
Rest in power, Mohammad Bakri.
Rest in power, Mohammad Bakri.
And so fate would have it that, a few months before his passing, I spoke with him for BFI in the most emotional interview I conducted this year.
RIP the great Mohammad Bakri. Palestinian and Arab culture is gonna be significantly poorer without you.
www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/q...
RIP the great Mohammad Bakri. Palestinian and Arab culture is gonna be significantly poorer without you.
www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/q...
The quiet Palestinian: actor-director Mohammad Bakri on his life and work
Mohammad Bakri is one of the founding fathers of Palestinian cinema, with four of his sons now actors too. He tells us about growing up with a cinema but no electricity, the burden of playing Palestin...
www.bfi.org.uk
December 24, 2025 at 6:06 PM
And so fate would have it that, a few months before his passing, I spoke with him for BFI in the most emotional interview I conducted this year.
RIP the great Mohammad Bakri. Palestinian and Arab culture is gonna be significantly poorer without you.
www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/q...
RIP the great Mohammad Bakri. Palestinian and Arab culture is gonna be significantly poorer without you.
www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/q...
Excellent, illuminating read on Iran's state-sponsored film festival Fajr and the fluctuating position of filmmakers towards the conditional public funding.
In Arabic.
raseef22.net/article/1101...
In Arabic.
raseef22.net/article/1101...
هل المهرجانات السينمائية ملك للشعب أم للحكومة؟… إجابة إيرانية - رصيف22
تشهد السينما الإيرانية توتراً بين الاستقلالية والرقابة، حيث يسعى الفنانون جاهدين للحفاظ على هويتهم الثقافية وسط القيود الحكومية. بين قرار المشاركة أو المقاطعة، يجد السينمائيون أنفسهم أمام تحديات اقتصا...
https://raseef22.net/article/1101353-هل-المهرجانات-السينمائية-ملك-للشعب-أم-للحكومة-إجابة-إيرانية
December 23, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Excellent, illuminating read on Iran's state-sponsored film festival Fajr and the fluctuating position of filmmakers towards the conditional public funding.
In Arabic.
raseef22.net/article/1101...
In Arabic.
raseef22.net/article/1101...
One of the most underrated rockers of the '90ies. Road to Hell and The Blue Cafes are forgotten masterpieces.
RIP #ChrisRea
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCQ0...
RIP #ChrisRea
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCQ0...
Chris Rea - The Blue Cafe (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by Chris Rea
www.youtube.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:03 AM
One of the most underrated rockers of the '90ies. Road to Hell and The Blue Cafes are forgotten masterpieces.
RIP #ChrisRea
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCQ0...
RIP #ChrisRea
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCQ0...
For the latest issue of @IEMed's Afkar magazine, I wrote about how the aftermath of October 7 was translated into a prickly cinematic war in which the ethics of representation are constantly called into question.
Only in Spanish.
www.politicaexterior.com/articulo/la-...
Only in Spanish.
www.politicaexterior.com/articulo/la-...
La guerra en la pantalla | Política Exterior
Por primera vez desde la Nakba, Palestina parece estar ganando la guerra en la pantalla. Pero surgen cuestiones éticas, ya sea sobre la moralidad de la representación o la inmoralidad de la omisión.
www.politicaexterior.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:49 PM
For the latest issue of @IEMed's Afkar magazine, I wrote about how the aftermath of October 7 was translated into a prickly cinematic war in which the ethics of representation are constantly called into question.
Only in Spanish.
www.politicaexterior.com/articulo/la-...
Only in Spanish.
www.politicaexterior.com/articulo/la-...
In my monthly column, "Cinema, Etcetera," I finally gathered all my thoughts to write about "The Voice of Hind Rajab."
I realise the floodgates of hell will open up on me because of this, but the intention of the piece is to invite a different conversation (Contid)
I realise the floodgates of hell will open up on me because of this, but the intention of the piece is to invite a different conversation (Contid)
December 18, 2025 at 8:32 PM
In my monthly column, "Cinema, Etcetera," I finally gathered all my thoughts to write about "The Voice of Hind Rajab."
I realise the floodgates of hell will open up on me because of this, but the intention of the piece is to invite a different conversation (Contid)
I realise the floodgates of hell will open up on me because of this, but the intention of the piece is to invite a different conversation (Contid)
Reposted by Joseph Fahim
Trump's statement about Rob Reiner shows the depth of his trench.
USA, you elected someone who has no idea how to be a decent human being.
Trump is destroying your humanity.
USA, you elected someone who has no idea how to be a decent human being.
Trump is destroying your humanity.
December 15, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Trump's statement about Rob Reiner shows the depth of his trench.
USA, you elected someone who has no idea how to be a decent human being.
Trump is destroying your humanity.
USA, you elected someone who has no idea how to be a decent human being.
Trump is destroying your humanity.
I said some things about "The Voice of Hind Rajab" to @vulture.com.
More in my monthly column later this month.
www.vulture.com/article/the-...
More in my monthly column later this month.
www.vulture.com/article/the-...
‘Will You Come and Get Me?’
Inside The Voice of Hind Rajab, the divisive festival hit that reenacts the 5-year-old’s call to emergency dispatchers in Gaza before she was killed.
www.vulture.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:13 PM
I said some things about "The Voice of Hind Rajab" to @vulture.com.
More in my monthly column later this month.
www.vulture.com/article/the-...
More in my monthly column later this month.
www.vulture.com/article/the-...
To mark my new Al Bustan Seeds of Culture column, "Cinema, Etcetera", monthly film screenings of the latest and finest and most daring Arab cinema will commence this month in our headquarters in South Kensington.
December 3, 2025 at 2:58 PM
To mark my new Al Bustan Seeds of Culture column, "Cinema, Etcetera", monthly film screenings of the latest and finest and most daring Arab cinema will commence this month in our headquarters in South Kensington.
Reposted by Joseph Fahim
In my latest Al Bustan Seeds of Culture column, I explore why an Arab-American cinema never materialized and examine the dominant Sunni–Muslim–heterosexual–male gaze that continues to shape the works made by diasporic Arabs in the U.S.
www.albustanseeds.org/news/whereis...
www.albustanseeds.org/news/whereis...
Cinema, Etcetera | Where is the Arab American Film Wave? — Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
By Joseph Fahim The cornerstone of works by diaspora filmmakers is identity and alienation, and intricate community dynamics in relation to diverse American environments. In the scant body of work...
www.albustanseeds.org
November 29, 2025 at 5:35 PM
In my latest Al Bustan Seeds of Culture column, I explore why an Arab-American cinema never materialized and examine the dominant Sunni–Muslim–heterosexual–male gaze that continues to shape the works made by diasporic Arabs in the U.S.
www.albustanseeds.org/news/whereis...
www.albustanseeds.org/news/whereis...
In my latest Al Bustan Seeds of Culture column, I explore why an Arab-American cinema never materialized and examine the dominant Sunni–Muslim–heterosexual–male gaze that continues to shape the works made by diasporic Arabs in the U.S.
www.albustanseeds.org/news/whereis...
www.albustanseeds.org/news/whereis...
Cinema, Etcetera | Where is the Arab American Film Wave? — Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
By Joseph Fahim The cornerstone of works by diaspora filmmakers is identity and alienation, and intricate community dynamics in relation to diverse American environments. In the scant body of work...
www.albustanseeds.org
November 29, 2025 at 5:35 PM
In my latest Al Bustan Seeds of Culture column, I explore why an Arab-American cinema never materialized and examine the dominant Sunni–Muslim–heterosexual–male gaze that continues to shape the works made by diasporic Arabs in the U.S.
www.albustanseeds.org/news/whereis...
www.albustanseeds.org/news/whereis...
To mark BFI’s current season of melodramas, I wrote about how Egypt’s storied tradition of melodramas reflected the spirit of a nation seldom in control of its own destiny, while also serving as a vehicle for championing women’s emancipation.
www.bfi.org.uk/features/aro...
www.bfi.org.uk/features/aro...
Around the world in melodrama: 9 countries, 45 essential films
From Hollywood tearjerkers to Chinese tales of passion and loss, melodrama has shaped cinema across cultures. Our trip around the globe explores how filmmakers worldwide have embraced heightened emoti...
www.bfi.org.uk
November 26, 2025 at 12:33 PM
To mark BFI’s current season of melodramas, I wrote about how Egypt’s storied tradition of melodramas reflected the spirit of a nation seldom in control of its own destiny, while also serving as a vehicle for championing women’s emancipation.
www.bfi.org.uk/features/aro...
www.bfi.org.uk/features/aro...
