Mohammed Fadel (name also spelled Muhammad Fadil; born 22 June 1938) is a veteran

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian television and film director. Fadel, along with Osama Anwar Okasha and Inaam Mohamed Ali, is credited in Egypt for establishing the genre of Egyptian dramatic serial television. He is considered a "godfather" of Egyptian television serials.

Career

Fadel began his career in the 1950s in radio. He wrote a number of television series in the 1960s and 1970s, the most notable of which was the comedic soap opera ''Al-Qahira wa-l-nas'' ("Cairo and the People"), which was themed on modernity and cultural authenticity. Divided into half-hour segments, the show was similar to American sitcom television, making it unique in Egyptian media during its time.Armbrust, 1996, p. 16. Afterwards, he directed a psychological film ''Etnen Wahed Sifr'' ("2-1-0") (1974) starring

Salah Zulfikar Salah El-Din Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar (, ; 18 January 1926 – 22 December 1993) was an Egyptian actor and film producer. He started his career as a Egyptian National Police, police officer, before becoming an actor in 1956. He is regarded as one o ...

, it was a breakthrough, followed by the Ramadan soap operas ''Abna'i Al-A'izza', Shukran'' ("Dear Children, Thank You") in the late 1970s, ''Rihlat El-Sayyid Abul-Ela El-Bishri'' ("The Journey of Mr Abul-Ela El-Bishri") in the 1980s, ''Li Dawa'i Amniya'' ("For Security Measures") in 2005, and ''Sekket el-Hilali'' ("El-Hilali's Path") in 2006.Mustafa, Hani
Soap and sin
. '' Al-Ahram Weekly''. 2006-11-18. His reputation was significantly raised with his television series "White Flag" (1989), written by Okasha. The show was set in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and dealt with Egypt's wide income disparity, criminals-turned-wealthy, and Egyptian high life. Fadel directed the 1982 romance film ''Hobb fil Zinzana'' ("Love in the Prison Cell") starring Soad Hosny, the first film on Egyptian president

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

in '' Nasser 56'' (1996) starring Ahmed Zaki, and Egyptian singer

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum (; 31 December 1898 – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptians, Egyptian singer and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title (). Immensely popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, Umm Kul ...

in the 1999 film ''Kawkab al-Sharq'' ("Star of the Orient"). The latter starred Fadel's wife, veteran actress Ferdous Abdel-Hamid.El-Bishlawi, Khairiya
A woman for all seasons
. '' Al-Ahram Weekly''. 1999-06-16.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fadel, Mohammed Egyptian film directors Living people Egyptian television directors Year of birth missing (living people)