Osama Fawzy(1961-2019)

Osama Fawzy is an Egyptian film director; he has been working in the film industry for 40 years. Fawzy was graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinema in 1984. He worked as an assistant director since 1978, when he worked with a large number of prominent Egyptian directors including Hussein Kamal, Niazi Mustafa, Barakat, Ashraf Fahmy, Yousry Nasrallah and Radwan Al Kashef Fawzi is very well known for his controversial films, in 1996 he directed his first feature film the asphalt demons, written by Mostafa Zekri. The film was officialy selected in tens of international film festivals and won the Swissair/Crossair Special Prize in Locarno International film festival and nominated to the Golden Motogolfiere in Nantes Three Continents Festival and won the best director and other 3 awards in Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema. In 1999, Fawzy directed his second feature film The Fallen Angels Paradise, written by mostafa Zekri, the film was officially selected in more than 10 film festival including Locarno International film festival and won the best film awards in Cairo International Film Festival and Alexandria International Film Festival along with other 17 awards. In 2004, he directed I Love The Cinema, which revolves around the life of a Christian family, a religiously Orthodox husband and a Protestant wife, a child and a girl. The film presents the social problems facing this family because of the husband's view of religion. The film provoked the public, which made some lawyers, and Christian clerics filing a lawsuit demanding to shutdown the screening of the film because of its ridicule of Christianity. The film was selected in many film festivals and won several awards including the Best Director award in Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema. In 2009, he directed In Natural Colors, about a student in the College of Fine Arts, who became an artist despite his family's wishes for him to become a doctor. During his journey, he is faced with opposing views between ultra religious fundamentalists condemning his art, and those of the opposite far left. He ends up battling his inner demons to find an answer to his burning questions.