Khairy Beshara (, ; born June 30, 1947, in Tanta, Egypt) is an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since the 1970s. He is considered one of the Egyptian directors who re-defined Realism in Egyptian cinema in the 1980s. In a recent book published by Bibliotheca Alexandrina in 2007 about the most important 100 films in the history of Egyptian cinema, three of his movies were listed: The Collar and the Bracelet, Bitter Day, Sweet Day, and Ice Cream in Gleem.
Biography
Beshara completed his high school in Cairo then joined the Egyptian Higher Institute of Cinema where he graduated in 1967. He then went to Warsaw, Poland, on a fellowship for two years where he met his future wife, Monika Kowalczyk. He started his career with a focus on documentaries then moved to feature narratives and directed 12 long features that were screened at various international film festivals. He is one of the first Egyptian and Arab directors to venture into digital film making in the late 1990s.
Filmography
Documentaries and short films
Tanks Hunter (1974) صائد الدبابات
The Village Doctor (1975) طبيب فى الأرياف
The Sea Gull (1976) طائر النورس
Illumination (1977) تنوير
The Talk of the Rocks (1978) حديث الحجر
Surpassing Despair (1980) تجاوز اليأس
Applied Arts in Qatar (1984) الفن التشكيلى فى قطر
Feature films
Bloody Destinies (1982) الأقدار الدامية (Egyptian-Algerian co-production) House Boat No.70 (1982) العوامة رقم 70 The Collar and the Bracelet (1986) الطوق والأسورة Sweet Day, Bitter Day (1988) يوم حلو..يوم مر Crab (Kaboria) (1990) كابوريا Wild Desire (1991) رغبة متوحشة Ice Cream in Gleem (1992) آيس كريم فى جليم America Abracadabra (America Shika Bika) (1993) (shot and edited in Romania) أمريكا شيكا بيكا Strawberry War (1993) حرب الفراولة Traffic Light (1995) اشارة مرور Nutshell (1995) قشر البندق A Night On The Moon (2008) -Digital film transferred to 35mm- ليلة فى القمر Moondog (2012)
Short films on development in Egypt
Girls' Participation
Female Genital Mutilation
Children's Rights
People with Disabilities
Environmental Protection
Training for Employment
(All were made in 1999)
TV series
The Star 1999 (8 TV episodes on the life of the Egyptian actress, Nabila Ebeid) النجمة A Matter of Principle (Mas'alet Mabda') 2003 مسألة مبدأ The Salt of the Earth (Malh El 'ard) 2004 ملح الأرض Habiba's Heart ('alb Habiba) 2005 قلب حبيبة The Prey and the Hunter (Alfarisa Wal Sayyad) 2007 الفريسة والصياد THE ESCAPE FROM THE WEST (ALHROUB MEN ALGHARB) 2009 الهروب من الغرب OSTRICH FEATHERS (REESH NA3AM) 2010 ريش نعام Zaat (Self) 2012 / Episodes from 17 to 30 ذات الحلقات من ١٧ إلي ٣٠ Second Wife 2013 الزوجة الثانية The people of Alexandria 2014 أهل اسكندرية Sulfur Red P1 2016 كبريت أحمر الجزء الأول The Flood 2017 الطوفان Karma's Curse 2018 لعنة كارما
Prizes, awards and festivals participation
Tanks Hunter
1974 Leipzig 17th International Festival for Short &Documentary Films for Cinema and Television, Official Entry 1975 Sixth National Festival for Documentary and Short Films, Cairo, Egypt Best Idea – Khairy Beshara Best Photography – Mahmoud Abdel Samei
The Village Doctor
1976 The 7th National Festival for Documentary and Short Films, Cairo, Egypt
Golden Prize – Best Film in the category of medium long films
Best Direction & Scenario – Khairy Beshara
Best Photography – M. Abdel Samei
Best Editing – A. Metwally
Best Music – Dr. Youssef Shawki
Best Sound – M. Abdel Muteleb
1976 The Catholic Audio-Visual Center Award
Best Documentary “for its noble message of devoting one’s experience to those who need it.. setting an example for a young doctor working in rural areas”
1976 The Egyptian Association of Cinema Critics (FIRPRESCI member) Best Documentary “for its unique treatment in dealing with the Egyptian village and its problems…with awareness and a cinematographic view quite unusual for the Egyptian documentaries”
1976 Leipzig 19th International Film Festival
The International Students Union Festival Award
1978 The Encouragement State Award, The High Council of Arts, Literature
Award of Sciences & Arts of the First Degree
The Sea Gull
1977 The 8th National Festival for Documentary and Short Films, Cairo, Egypt (Medium Long Category) Award for Direction & Scenario – Khairy Beshara Award for Editing – K. Abul Ela