The Night of Counting the Years

Egypt
1969/35mm/103mins

SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER 4.30 pm – Arc at NFSA

The haunting Egyptian cinema classic, a tale of grave-robbery and disappearing cultural heritage amongst the tombs of the Pharaohs, restored to its original ethereal colours and textures by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation.

“…The Night of Counting the Years… (is) rightfully acknowledged as one of the greatest Egyptian films ever made. (It) is based on a true story: in 1881, precious objects from the Tanite dynasty started turning up for sale, and it was discovered that the Horabat tribe had been secretly raiding the tombs of Thebes… (The film) was extremely difficult to see from the 1970s onward. I managed to screen a 16mm print which had gone magenta. Yet I still found it entrancing… the almost ceremonial movement of the camera, the desolate settings, the classical Arabic spoken on the soundtrack, the unsettling score by the great Italian composer Mario Nascimbene – they all work… to contribute to the feeling of fateful inevitability.” – Martin Scorsese.

THE NIGHT OF COUNTING THE YEARS
(AL-MUMMIA)

Director Shadi Abdel Salam Cast Ahmed Marei (Wannis), Ahmed Hegazi (Brother), Zouzou Hamdi El Hakim (Mother), Nadia Lofti (Zeena), AAbdelmonen Aboulfoutou (Uncle) Print Source World Cinema Foundation

Tagged as: Abdel Monein Aboul Fetouh, Ahmed Hegazi, Ahmed Marei, Nadia Lofti, Shadi Abdel Salam, World Cinema Foundation, Zouzou Handi El Hakim