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1-21 of 21
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Arab American Actor Sayed Badreya, realized a childhood dream by winning roles in major Hollywood films such as Iron Man, The Insider, Three Kings, and Independence Day. He's also a renowned advocate for human rights and enriching the American culture through films and television. His journey to the big-screen, however, was not easy. Sayed's story is one of perseverance, belief, and beating the odds. Born in 1957 in Port Said, Egypt, Sayed grew up in poverty but had dreams and aspirations of movie stardom from a young age. Although the prospect of him ever making it to Hollywood felt as bleak as realizing peace in the Middle East, he felt an undeniable pull towards acting, believing that he was cut out for something more. He used the movie theater as a child as an escape from the war-torn Middle Eastern atmosphere he was born into. It was at the movie theater where he discovered the transformational magic of film and where he determined that he was destined to be a part of that magic. Sayed moved to the United States and attended New York University film school before moving out to Hollywood to pursue his acting career. His career in the film industry first began as an assistant to actor/director Anthony Perkins, and then with director James Cameron on the film, 'True Lies.' Badreya had a clear mission; he wanted to make movies that told the Arabic-American story, since it had yet to be told. This mission led him to creating a production company of his own, 'Zoom In Focus.' Under this banner, he directed and produced the documentary, 'Saving Egyptian Film Classics' as well as 'The Interrogation', which won Best Creative Short Film at the New York International Film Festival. He also produced and starred in a short film called, 'T for Terrorist', which was awarded Best Short Film at the Boston International Film Festival and the San Francisco World Film Festival. Sayed's efforts to bring attention to Arab-Americans in the motion picture industry has received much coverage and media attention over the years on radio, television, and in major publications around the world. Media outlets such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, GQ, NPR, ABC's Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, BBC's Panorama, CNN, Fox Report with Shepard Smith, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Egypt Today, and more have chronically Sayed's inspiring message and journey. Movies and Acting Roles Sayed has made appearances in over 65 movie and television roles throughout his career. He's shared scenes with some of Hollywood's top actors including Al Pacino, George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr., and Jackie Chan. He's also had the pleasure of working with some of the best directors in the business including Michael Mann, Peter Farrelly, Jon Favreau, and Oliver Stone. Aside from his acting roles, he's worked as an Arabic dialect coach and as an Islamic technical advisor on Path to 9/11, a $40 million dollar mini-series about the events leading up to 9/11 produced by ABC/Touchstone. It was in 2007 that he landed his first leading role in the English language motion picture, 'American East', a film that he also co-wrote. 2008 was Sayed Badreya's breakout year. He captivated audiences as Abu Bakaar, the villainous arms dealer who kidnaps Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in the summer blockbuster, 'Iron Man.' That same year, Sayed also played the comedic Palestinian cab driver opposite Adam Sandler in 'You Don't Mess with the Zohan'. In 2009, Sayed was featured in Paramount Pictures' feature film 'El Traspatio' aka 'Backyard,' directed by Oscar-nominated Carlos Carrera, in which he plays a serial killer opposite Ana de la Reguera. Sayed also found himself in 'Movie 43,' where he plays opposite Halle Berry. Additional films in 2009 include; 'The Three Stooges,' his fifth film with the Farrelly brothers; 'The Dictator,' playing Sacha Baron Cohen's father as the original dictator, and 'Just Like a Woman', with Oscar-nominated director Rachid Bouchareb. In 2011, he completed his second leading role in the New York independent feature, 'Cargo,' about human traffickers, directed by Yan Vizinberg. That same year he also co-starred opposite Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo in the film 'The Space Between,' directed by Travis Fine. 2017 brought Sayed Badreya the well-deserved honor of winning the Best Actor award from the 13th edition of Action on Film Festival in Las Vegas for his role in the movie 'Aileron.' In 2018 Sayed Badreya received a 'Life Achievement Award' at the Boston International film festival to commemorate his lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through films and television. 2019 has been one of Sayed's most successful years yet. He shot 'Vanguard' opposite Jackie Chan, signed a 2nd season for 'Apple & Onion, a US animated television series created for Cartoon Network, and co-starred in an Egyptian television Series, 'Winter 2006.' Additionally, his short film, Al-Masry Life, won the Best Short Film award from the 15th annual Action on Film International Film Festival. As of 2020, Badreya had a new project in the works, a film about human trafficking called 'What About Her,' which exposes Beverly Hills' and Bel Air's dirty little secret: young maids who are secretly enslaved by rich and powerful Arabs and diplomats in some of LA's wealthiest neighborhoods.- Joyce Heron was born on 6 November 1916 in Port Said, Egypt. She was an actress, known for Au Pair Girls (1972), Emma (1948) and Young and Willing (1954). She was married to Ralph Michael. She died on 1 April 1980 in London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Mahmoud Yassine was born on 19 February 1942 in Port Said, Egypt. He was an actor and director, known for Souk El-Asr (2001), Mama Fi El-Qism (2010) and The Message (1976). He was married to Shahira. He died on 14 October 2020 in Cairo, Egypt.- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Amr Diab was born in Port Said, Egypt into an artistic family. His father Abdul Basset Diab worked for the Suez Canal Corporation where he was chairman of Marine Construction & Shipbuilding. He possessed a fine singing voice and encouraged the young Amr to sing. One evening, when Amr was only 6 years old, his father took him to the July 23rd Festival at Port Said. There they visited the local broadcasting station and Amr made his first singing appearance on Egyptian Radio performing the National Anthem "Biladi, Biladi". He was praised by the Governor of Port Said who gave him a guitar as a prize. Amr began his music studies at the music faculty of the Cairo Academy Art and from which he graduated in 1986. His first album, "Ya Tareeq", followed shortly and it was an instant success. There have been, since then, a further 16 top selling albums in a prolific recording career which has established him as the super star of the Arab World.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Sam Karmann was born on 23 September 1953 in Port Said, Egypt. He is an actor and director, known for Omnibus (1992), Kennedy et moi (1999) and La vérité ou presque (2007).- Costume Designer
- Production Designer
- Actor
Antoine Malliarakis, aka Mayo, was born in 1905 in Egypt, the son of a Greek engineer and a French mother. Although he kept a Greek passport throughout his life, he was culturally French and lived in France for half of his life after leaving Egypt. He came to France to study architecture but started frequenting artistic circles in the Paris of the roaring twenties and decided to become a painter instead. He made a living decorating cabarets and, later, designing costumes for stage productions, while continuing to paint. In 1944 his friend, writer Jacques Prévert, recommended him as costume designer for the classical period piece "Les Enfants du Paradis". The film was a hit and allowed Mayo to lead a 20-year career in French cinema, designing the costumes (and sometimes the scenery) of several classics. In the meantime, he also worked as art director on many commercials. With the early 60s, and the coming of the "Nouvelle Vague", period pieces became less frequent, and Mayo had less work offers. He ultimately decided to leave movies to concentrate on his paintings. Having moved to Rome, Italy, in the mid-sixties, he finally managed to make a good living with his paintings alone. Unfortunately, in the early eighties, Mayo gradually lost his eyesight. In 1984 he moved back to France and died in 1990, aged 85.- Writer
- Director
- Cinematographer
Ibrahim El-Batout, who was born on the 20th of September, 1963 in Portsaid, is a graduate of the American University in Cairo in 1985, majoring in Physics. El Batout's infatuation with the camera started in the Video Cairo Production House, an agency that provides facilities for foreign TV-stations. There, he worked as a sound engineer. Shortly after, El Batout began to experiment with filmmaking and learned about the skills required of cameramen, editors and directors. Later, he worked for a year at a British television station called TV-Am, located in Cyprus. Since then, he has worked as a director, producer and cameraman, capturing stories mainly about human loss, suffering, and displacement since 1987, and has also directed numerous documentaries for international TV channels, such as ZDF (Germany), TBS (Japan) and ARTE (France).
El Batout documentary work has received numerous international awards, such as : the Axel Springer Award in Germany (1994 and 2000) and the Direct Marketing Association's coveted ECHO award (1996).
Towards the beginning of 2004, El Batout stepped into the world of fiction to make the long feature film 'Ithaki' (2005). His second feature film 'Ein Shams' (Eye of the Sun) (2008) has won the Golden Bull, the top prize at the 54th Taormina Film Festival, 2008.
In 2010, El Batout's third feature film Hawi won the best Arab Film Award at the 2nd Doha Tribeca Film Festival, and will have its international premiere at the 40th International Film Festival Rotterdam January/February 2011.- Egyptian actress Born in Port Said in 1929, joined the Faculty of Arts, English Language Department and then the Higher Institute of the Art of Representation, despite its instability in Cairo, but she was able to graduate from it successfully. "Aunt Bemba" is the decisive figure in the life of her.
- Visual Effects
- Animation Department
Fady Kadry was born on 19 March 1988 in Port Said, Egypt. He is known for Alita: Battle Angel (2019), Black Panther (2018) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017).- Gali Gali was born on 23 October 1902 in Port Said, Egypt. He was an actor, known for The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show (1992), All Star Revue (1950) and Cabaret Cruise (1937). He died on 1 October 1984 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
- Muhsen Sarhan was born on 6 January 1916 in Port Said, Egypt. He was an actor, known for Gahim taht el-Ma (1989), Bayaet el ward (1959) and Should I Kill My Husband? (1958). He died on 8 February 1993 in Cairo, Egypt.
- Director
- Writer
Undoubtedly one of the most well-known TV directors in Greece. He is also considered by many one of the founders of Greek TV, back in 1969. His significant participation to national TV channels, as TV director and production counselor, from 1969 until 1988, introduced him as the director of high rated live shows. For almost nineteen years as director for the state television, he directed sitcom, dramas and soap operas, a great number of game shows and musical entertainment shows; whereas the majority of these programs were broad casted live. From 1966 until 1969 he was gaining experience studying in WGBH in Boston Massachusetts, Educational Foundation where he graduated in production and direction He went back to Greece in 1969 from Boston, after his graduation and work experience in WGBH in order to share knowledge and experience organizing the state TV which was in infantry that time. In 1988 he joined the private television, ANT1 TV as the station's exclusive director and counselor, giving the best of his talent and passion for direction. He is responsible for countless of live broadcasting of music shows, variety shows, game shows, talk shows, beauty contests, which all of them were counted as the top rated viewing. This was the period that he establishes his name as the "director of live shows".
During the 40 years of his career have recorded live concerts and work closely with several worldwide famous and demanding artists like: Charles Aznavour, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gloria Gaynor, Barry White, Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Tina Turner, Celine Dion.
From 1962 until 1965 he studied in Drama School of Athens attending classes in Music School of Athens who was graduated with distinction.
As a professional actor he made performances in Athenian theaters for two (2) years. He performed in Australia and New Zealand, for six months in theatre tour as an actor performing Ancient Greek Comedy and Classic Musical Play under the authority of "Elizabethan Theatre Trust".- Ian Dawson-Shepherd was born on 23 September 1915 in Port Said, Egypt. He was a writer, known for Tibetan Story (1965), Money-Go-Round (1967) and Wonderful Bri-nylon (1966). He died on 8 January 1996 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Hans Dijkstal was born on 28 February 1943 in Port Said, Egypt. He was an actor, known for Maigret (1964), Dit was het nieuws (1996) and Barend en Van Dorp (1990). He died on 9 May 2010 in Wassenaar, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.- Ronald Emblen was born on 14 October 1933 in Port Said, Egypt. He died on 11 November 2003 in Oxfordshire, England, UK.
- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Giorgos Skalenakis was born on 17 May 1926 in Port Said, Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for Epiheirisis Apollon (1968), Diplopennies (1966) and Vyzantini rapsodia (1968). He died on 14 September 2014 in Athens, Greece.- Camera and Electrical Department
Edgar H. Smales was born on 7 August 1920 in Port Said, Egypt. Edgar H. was married to Phyllis Maud Page. Edgar H. died on 19 September 1984 in Wembley, Middlesex, England, UK.- Actor
- Producer
Actor Mizo Ghendar was born and raised in the city of port said , Egypt. His dream was to come to the United States and be a Hollywood movie star like the ones he watched on the big screen when he was young. In 1996 he graduated and got his ship building diploma and was fortunate enough to travel the world and live in exotic places like the islands of Malta and Cyprus, and different countries like Greece, Italy, Turkey and Lebanon. He learned to appreciate diversity, different cultures, and experienced meeting different people. In 2005, he came to the United States and worked his way up from the bottom, going through hard times but never giving up, following his dream. In 2013, he landed his breakthrough role as the bad guy in his first short film "Black Water" with the well known Hispanic actor Fernando Allende, as this role lead to open more opportunities for him in TV shows, documentaries, movies and theater. In 2015 he played the Alien in the movie "Among Us," which got positive results and reviews after its premiere from CNN, social media, and Hollywood and Beverly Hills news press. His character as the bad guy in "Among Us" also brought him recognition in the Latin-American community.- Soundtrack
Zakaria Ibrahim was born in 1952 in Port Said, Egypt. Zakaria died on 12 February 2024 in Cairo, Egypt.- Ranan Lurie was born on 26 May 1932 in Port Said, Egypt. He died on 8 June 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
- Marcel Mithois was born on 15 June 1922 in Port Said, Egypt. He was a writer, known for Atout coeur à Tokyo pour OSS 117 (1966), La bonne occase (1965) and Les 400 coups de Virginie (1979). He was married to Mounette Capron. He died on 20 July 2012 in Paris, France.