Egypt entertainment industry counts the cost of virus crisis
Egypt’s entertainment industry has been hit hard by precautionary measures taken by the government to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The makers of popular Ramadan programs have suffered the most from the production shutdown, as they were in the middle of filming shows that were due to begin in the last week of April. Work on most Egyptian series, which are popular throughout the Arab world, has now stopped and most have not announced a date for production to resume.
The affected shows include “Light Black,” starring Lebanese singer/actress Haifaa Wahby. It was initially announced that production would shift to Lebanon, only for Lebanese authorities to introduce a ban on filming. The series also features Rojina, Ahmed Fahmy, Moatasem El-Nahar, Sabry Fawaz, Omar El-Saeed, Feras Saeed and Rania Mansour. It is written by Amin Gamal and directed by Karim El-Adl. Egyptian series “Women of Gold” was also affected by this, since most of its scenes were due to be filmed in Lebanon. It stars Nadia El-Gendy, Hala Fakher, Nabila Ebeid and Samiha Ayoub, and is directed by Wael Ehsan.
Filming of “Why Should We Love Again?” — starring Yasmine AbdelAziz, Sherif Mounir, Karim Fahmy and Sawsan Badr — has likewise been postponed. It is written by Amr Mahmoud Yassin and directed by Hossam Aly.
Filming of “Thread of Silk,” starring Mai Ezzeldin, was due to take place during the first 10 days of April but this has been halted. It stars Mai Ezzeldin, Mahmoud Abdel-Moghny, Youssef Othman, Hanady Mehanna, Sawsan Badr and Ahmed Khalil, and was written by Mohamed Soliman and directed by Ibrahim Fakhr.
The cast and crew of “Moon at Life’s End,” starring Bushra and directed by Tamer Hamza, have been placed on indefinite hiatus. Observers predict the show is unlikely to be released during Ramadan because filming began only recently. In addition, “El-Moez Sultana,” starring
Ghada Abdel-Razek, and “Eyewitness,” starring Hassan El-Raddad, are postponed indefinitely. “Penetration,” starring Ahmed Eid and Mai Selim, is also on hold. Much of it was due to be filmed in Saudi Arabia, but the Kingdom is limiting flights and has imposed a curfew.