Georges Nasser (‎; 15 June 1927 – 23 January 2019) was a Lebanese director. He is considered to have been a pioneering figure in Lebanese cinema and is credited with having put Lebanon on global movie-making map.

Early life

Nasser was born in Tripoli on 15 June 1927, the fifth of 11 children. He attended the School of the Holy Hearts until the age of 7 and then the College of the Brothers of the Holy Family. During his childhood he was a keen fan of film, watching up to eight a week at the cinema. Nasser moved to California to attend UCLA and became one the first Arab filmmakers to obtain a film degree in the United States. Though he had originally intended to study architecture as he was unaware that cinema studies was a subject. At UCLA he met fellow film students

George Roy Hill George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American actor and film director. His films include ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford; both fil ...

and

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

Career

After graduating from UCLA in the mid-50s, he returned to Lebanon to direct his first feature, ''Ila Ayn'' (1957), which became the first Lebanese film to be featured In Selection at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

.Ham, Anthony. ''Middle East'', page 411 After sixty years, the film was screened again in its restored print version as part of the Cannes Classics events in 2017, after which Nasser, who is known as the "Father of Lebanese Cinema" received a standing ovation. Although his career was cut short by the Lebanese civil war, he has mentored a new generation of Lebanese filmmakers as an instructor at the

Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts The Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA; ) was originally a stand-alone Lebanon, Lebanese institute, now one of the Faculty (university), faculties at the University of Balamand, teaching courses in fine art. It was founded in 1937, and it was the ...

. Nasser also attempted to establish a film-making syndicate in the aftermath of the war. In the 1990s he began a project to create a film of the life of Egyptian actress

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entitled ''Lee Ouyon al-Nas'' but it was never completed. In his late career he completed several short films for the Lebanese Army. He died on 23 January 2019, aged 91 and was buried at the St. Maroun Church in Tripoli on 24 January.

Filmography

''Ila Ayn?'' (1957)

The film known in French as ''Vers L'Inconnu'', was a mix of melodrama and Italian neo-realism, and cowritten with Halim Fares and Youssef Habchi Achkar. The film examines poetically the themes of exile and emigration. It tells the story of a family from an obscure village in

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

. Because the family is struggling, the father decides, like most men in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

at the time, to immigrate to Brazil, leaving his wife to raise the children, but he’s never heard from again. Nasser made the film at a time when Lebanon had a fledgling film industry, and so his cast was completely nonprofessional. q digital restoration of the original 35mm film was completed in time for its 60th anniversary. In addition to screening again at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the Cannes Classics series, the restored copy of the film was screened in Lebanon at the Metropolis Empire Sofil in

Achrafieh Achrafieh () is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter (''quartier''). In p ...

in January 2018.

''The Small Stranger'' (1962)

His second feature, ''The Small Stranger'' (or ''Le Petit Étranger'') was also selected for Cannes in 1962. The French-language film was a coming of age story about a young country boy who moves to the city and gets seduced by it.

''Only One Man Wanted'' (1975)

Nasser's third feature was produced by the National Film Organization and partially shot in Syria"60th Anniversary of 'Ila Ayn?'", Abbout Productions & Fondation Liban Cinema, 2017, page 7

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasser, Georges 1927 births 2019 deaths Lebanese film directors University of California, Los Angeles alumni Lebanese expatriates in the United States