Egypt has long been considered by most commentators as the birthplace of Arab cinema and many of the seminal milestones in Arab cinematic history such as the shooting of the first full‐length feature film, Layla (1928)3 took place along the banks of the Nile. The golden era of Egyptian cinema began in the late 1940’s and continued through the 1950’s and early 1960’s, an era which coincided with the coming to power of Col. Nasser after the Free Officers Revolution of 1952 and the subsequent establishment of Egypt as the cultural fulcrum of the new emerging pan‐Arab doctrine. During this period which ended with the death of Nasser in 1970, Egyptian cinema moved from being a simple entertainment tool for the masses to a role as an instrument of socio‐cultural change. As such, Egyptian cinema became almost a blueprint for the new Nasserist societal vision and the cinema screen brought this vision to a population where high rates of illiteracy hampered written efforts.
