World-renowned film critic, journalist and film historian Samir Farid passed away on Tuesday at the age of 73 after a battle with lung cancer over the past few years.
Farid was also considered one of the most prominent Arab and Egyptian critics, and was one of the biggest supporters of young, talented filmmakers.
He was born in Cairo in 1943 and graduated from the Department of Criticism at the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts in 1965. During his studies in 1964, he worked as a journalist and film critic at the state-owned newspaper Al-Gomhouriya.
He took part in issuance of three cinema magazines since 1969, in addition to authoring and translating over 60 books.
In 2002, he won the state award for excellence in the arts. He was also rewarded the Cannes Film Festival Gold Medal in both 1997 and 2000. More recently, he obtained the honorary Berlinale Camera Award at the annual Berlin International Film Festival in February. In addition, he was honored at each of the Cannes and Venice film festivals.
He was the first to propose establishing a national film festival in Egypt.
In 2014, he headed the Cairo International Film Festival and a technical director for the festival in 1985. In 1995, he headed the Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts and the Cairo International Film Festival for Children in 1998.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
