Today (Saturday), the great Egyptian director Dawood Abdel Sayed passed away. He was one of the most prominent figures in Egyptian and Arab cinema in recent decades, following a long illness, at the age of 79.
His wife, journalist Karima Kamal, announced the news with deep sorrow on her Facebook account, saying: «Today I lost the most precious thing to me... my husband and beloved, Dawood Abdel Sayed».
His son, the musician Ragih Dawood, revealed that his father suffered from a severe health setback related to a kidney problem in his final days, undergoing regular kidney dialysis sessions, with personal follow-up by the Minister of Culture, Dr. Ahmed Fouad Naw, to facilitate his treatment.
Dawood Abdel Sayed is considered one of the most important directors who combined a profound philosophical vision with sharp social realism. His films focused on the concerns of the simple Egyptian individual, marginalized social classes, authority, corruption, and the lost dream, in a distinctive cinematic style that blended bitter satire with poetic humanity.
Over his decades-long career, Dawood Abdel Sayed presented the Egyptian and Arab cinema with numerous masterpieces, including: Al-Saaleek (1985), Searching for Sayed Marzouk (1991) which won the Silver Pyramid at the Cairo Festival, and The Kit Kat (1991) with Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, which is considered a classic of Egyptian cinema, Dreamland (1993), Land of Fear (2000) and Citizen, Detective, and Thief (2001).
Dawood Abdel Sayed
Dawood Abdel Sayed started his career as an assistant director in major films such as «Al-Ard» by Youssef Chahine, then shifted to making social documentary films before becoming an influential narrative filmmaker. His films participated in many international festivals and received local and international awards and honors.
