Share this story!            

A critical look at America

An Egyptian film director whose work has attacked Islamist intolerance at home has turned his camera on the United States where he sees political fanaticism and media bias fuelling hatred of Arabs. In his latest film, Alexandria New York, Youssef Chahine deals with the clash between his love for America, where he once studied, and his anger at what he views as Washington’s unswerving support for Israel at the Arabs’ expense.

“I am very angry, but not at the American people. I’m angry at the American regime,” said the 78-year-old director, who is one of the most celebrated filmmakers in Arab cinema. Alexandria New York tells the story of a New York ballet dancer who discovers that his father is Egyptian. “When he gets the shock of knowing his father is an Arab his rejection of his father is automatic because of the media, the unfair media, with the double standards all the time between us and Israel,” Chahine told Reuters.

Although Chahine does not have a son in New York, Alexandria New York is based loosely on his experiences in the United States. It is the fourth film centred on his life and is due for release in Arabic in June or July. In a pessimistic statement on the future of US-Arab ties, the father and son are unable to reconcile their differences.

Chahine says his view of future American-Arab ties is based partly on what he sees as the religiously inspired Middle East policies of US President George W Bush, a born again Christian. “Mr Bush is a fanatic, he said. —Reuters

Home | Infotainment

Share this story!