Photopia will honor five decades of prominent photographer Mohamed Bakr’s body of work, as part of the “Fifty Years of Cinematic Portraits” exhibition during Cairo Design Week – running from February 25 to March 10.
These portraits were chosen from over 2000 artistic works Bakr has photographed since 1956.
The magic of cinema is undeniable, and the photographs captured here offer a timeless window into the past, gaining a deeper meaning with each passing year.
Bakr stated, “The exhibition will include about 100 images from 80 films. It was organized in cooperation with Marwa Abou Leila several months ago to select a number of magical cadres about literature, cinema, performance, comedy, and realism These cadres are presented through portraits of stars in diversified historical stages that keep up with the old and new”.
“Basically, following the success of El-Gouna exhibition, Photopia’s founder and managing director, Marwa Abou Leila, discussed holding another exhibition at Photopia. We selected a group of photos for the exhibition. The visitors of the exhibition will feel each and every photo. While photographing stars, I was eager to combine photography and cinematography,” he explained.
Abou Leila said, “We are pleased to host part of the cinematic archive of the iconic photographer Mohamed Bakr, who documented over 2000 cinematic films. It was crucial to celebrate part of his works, through which he highlighted the backstage scenes of well-known cinematic works, and his unique career as a cinematographer. It also adds a great value to Photopia in its mission to shed light on the archives of the most prominent photographers in Egypt throughout its history in diversified fields”.
With over six decades of experience, Bakr is considered a master of his craft, a true legend among cinematographers. He has highlighted prominent cinematic scenes through his camera, and his body of work exceeds a thousand cinematic films.
He has gathered an extensive collection of Egyptian film photographs, encompassing iconic scenes from the black and white era to modern times.
Bakr’s social circle spanned far and wide, encompassing renowned figures in the arts, politics, culture, sports, and science.
His best-known works include Naguib Mahfouz’s trilogy; “Palace Walk”, “Palace of Desire”, and “Sugar Street”, by Hassan El-Emam.
Among his works are “The Bullet Is Still in My Pocket”, “The Mummy”, “Maabodat al-Gamahir”, “the Water-Carrier Is Dead”, “Al Fetewa”, “The Nightingale’s Prayer”, “Abnaa al-Samt” and many more.
