Hassan Mohammed Khalil Enany is a filmmaker who is particularly interested in the merging of Arabic and western culture and how this is manifested in film. Over the past few years, Middle Eastern cinema has begun to have a greater presence in Western cinema and a variety of films with connections to the Middle East have been presented at a variety of film festivals recently, including London and Cannes. He has explored this growth by studying some examples of Arabic films. One person he has explored is British-Emirati Ali Mostafa who has had two films shown in various European countries and is the perfect example of this growing interest in Middle Eastern cinema. His success shows that people are being introduced to the idea of films being made outside of Europe and America. Hassan Enany believes that this is a sign of positive things to come for Arabic film and hopes to emulate this success in his own productions.

1. The Growth of Middle
Eastern Cinema
Hassan Mohammed Khalil Enany’s view on Arabic film in Western
Cinema

2. • Hassan Mohammed Khalil Enany is a filmmaker with a particular
interest in the influences of the Middle Eastern culture on cinema and
he is going to explore the importance of Arabic film and its presence
at Western celebrations of cinema.
• The movement Westwards for Arabic cinema is often thought to be a
response to conflict in the Middle East, it is considered an attempt to
build a bridge between the cultures and there has been an increase in
this over recent years. He is going to look into the growth of Middle
Eastern cinema in the West.

3. • An Arabic feature is to be presented at next month’s London Film
Festival. The Worthy is directed by British-Emirati Ali Mostafa and is
his first action film. He is considered a pioneer of Arabic cinema and
has made a range of feature films, the first of which was debuted in
2009.
• His work has been shown in various European countries which Hassan
Enany believes is a sign of positive things to come for Arabic film.
Every year more film festivals and events are showing films from
outside Europe and America, making it a very exciting time for
cinema.

4. • Persepolis is one of the most well-known pieces of Arabic cinema,
though some dispute its authenticity as it was produced by an
American film production company. However, it is by far one of the
most high-profile films to be influenced by the Middle East.
• Based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel, the film
follows a young girl as she grows up during the Iranian Revolution.
The film was widely acclaimed and nominated for an Academy Award,
this is certainly proof that Middle Eastern inspired content can
succeed in front of a Western Audience.

5. • The Cannes Film Festival in 2016 was described as a ‘significant year’
for Middle Eastern cinema with a big increase in films from the region
on previous years. One of the front-runners at the festival was Asghar
Farhadi, an Oscar-winning writer and director from Iran. His film The
Salesman follows the story of a couple of aspiring actors in Tehran.
• As well as this entry, there was also Inversion directed by Benham
Behzadi which also generated a great deal of interest and excitement
in the Middle Eastern film industry. These examples highlight the
growing presence of the Middle East and it is hoped that this will
continue.

6. • Hassan Enany hopes one day to be able to replicate the success of
these films in his own work and is very excited to see the merging of
Arab and Western culture in recent productions. This is an area of
cinema he is particularly enthusiastic about as it reflects his own
experiences, having moved from the Middle East to London to study.
He hopes to be able to explore this further in his upcoming projects.