''Destiny'' (, translit. ''al-Maṣīr''; ) is a 1997 Egyptian-French

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as c ...

directed and co-written by

Youssef Chahine Youssef Chahine ( ; 25 January 1926 – 27 July 2008) was an Egyptian film director. He was active in the Egyptian film industry from 1950 until his death. He directed twelve films included in a list of Top 100 Egyptian films published by ...

. It was screened out of competition at the

1997 Cannes Film Festival The 50th Cannes Film Festival took place from 7 to 18 May 1997. French actress Isabelle Adjani served as jury president for the main competition. Jeanne Moreau hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The Palme d'Or was jointly awarded to Iran ...

. The film was selected as the Egyptian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

at the

70th Academy Awards The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 23, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the sho ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The film is about

Averroes Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinization of names, Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and Faqīh, jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astron ...

, a 12th-century philosopher from

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

who would be known as the most important commentator on

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

. The film is set in

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

and depicts the relationship between the Caliph and Averroes, who is one of his most trusted advisors. Religious fanatics start gaining control and begin influencing the Caliph's decisions, leading to the persecution of the philosopher, and to political unrest in Andalusia.

Cast

Nour El-Sherif Nour El-Sherif (; 28 April 1946 – 11 August 2015), born Mohamad Geber Mohamad Abd Allah () was a prominent Egyptian actor. He has 6 films in the Top 100 Egyptian films list. El-Sherif was born in the working-class neighbourhood of Sayeda Zain ...

Laila Eloui Laila Ahmed Elwi (born January 4, 1962, in Cairo), sometimes credited as Laila Eloui, Laila Olwy, Laila Eloui, and Laila Elwy (), is an Egyptians, Egyptian Actor, actress. She has starred in more than 70 movies and has been honored at Egyptians, E ...

as Manuella *

Mahmoud Hemida Mahmoud Hemida (Arabic: محمود حميدة; born December 7, 1953, in Cairo) is an Egyptian actor and producer. Career Mahmoud's acting career began with performances on television in 1986, he received his first starring role in a TV series ...

Al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

, The Caliph *

Safia El Emari Safia El Emari (), (born Safia Mustafa Mohamed Omari, October 20, 1949, in El-Mahalla El-Kubra) is an Egyptian actress. Biography She was appointed as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations in 1997, she resigned in 2006 in protest of the ...

as Averroes' Wife *

Mohamed Mounir Mohamed Mounir (; born October 10, 1954) is an Egyptian singer and actor, with a musical career spanning more than four decades. He incorporates various genres into his music, including classical Egyptian music, Nubian music, Blues, Jazz and ...

as Marwan * Khaled El Nabawy as

Al-Nasir Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn al-Hasan al-Mustaḍīʾ (), better known by his al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh (; 6 August 1158 – 5 October 1225) or simply as al-Nasir, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1180 until his death. His literally can m ...

, The Crown Prince * Seif El Dine as

Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...

The Caliph's Brother * Abdalla Mahmoud as Borhan * Ahmed Fouad Selim as Cheikh Riad * Hani Salama as Abdalla * Magdi Idris as Emir of the Sect * Ahmed Moukhtar as Bard * Sherifa Maher as Manuella's Mother * Fayek Azzab as

Al-Razi Razi () or al-Razi () is a name that was historically used to indicate a person coming from Ray, Iran. People It most commonly refers to: * Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865–925), influential physician, alchemist and philosopher, also known b ...

* Hassan El Adl as Gaafar * as Youssef * Ingi Abaza as Sarah

References

External links

*
Roger Ebert (review)
1997 films 1997 drama films 1990s adventure drama films Films about philosophers Films about freedom of expression Films about Islam Epic films based on actual events 1990s Arabic-language films 1990s French-language films Films set in the 12th century Films set in Andalusia Religious epic films Egyptian biographical drama films Biographical films about philosophers Films directed by Youssef Chahine French biographical drama films Islamic comedy and humor Historical epic films Cultural depictions of Averroes 1997 multilingual films Egyptian multilingual films French multilingual films 1990s French films 1990s Egyptian films Films set in medieval Iberia {{1990s-France-film-stub

Cast

See also

References

External links