Wahid Hamed

Through more than 100 films, TV dramas, radio shows and theatrical productions, Egyptian screenwriter Wahid Hamed carved a place for himself in the Arab world by utilizing all the dramatic tools he could get his hands on since the 1970s and over 50 years. The success of his work was reflected in the rave reviews received from audiences and critics alike for his indelible masterpieces, such as the celebrated films Al Bare'e (The Innocent), Al Le'eb Ma'a Al Kobar (Playing with Giants), Al Erhab Wal Kabab (Terrorists and Kebab), Toyour Elzalam (Birds of the Dark), Edhak El Soura Tetla'a Helwa (Smile, the Photo May Look Nicer), El Ghoul (The Ogre), Ehky Ya Shahrzad Film (Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story), Malaf Fel Adab (Vice Police), El Takhsheeba (In Prison), and Kashf El Mastour (Revelations), as well as serial dramas: Al Gama'a (The Party), Al A'aela (The Family), and Bedoun Zekr Asmaa (Without Mentioning Names). The importance of his films was not only apparent through their ticket sales at the box office, or the number of awards that Wahid Hamed won for screenwriting, but also through the challenges his films faced in regards to censorship. The most notable film that faced similar struggles was Al Bare'e (The Innocent), but the list also includes other films, such as Al Ghoul (The Ogre), Toyour Elzalam (Birds of the Dark), Al Takhshiba (Imprisonment), Kashf El Mastour (Revelations), and El Noom Fel Asal (Sleeping in Honey). In Egypt, which has the oldest and largest cinema industry in the Arab world, there is an unwritten rule that all writers must abide by. The rule states that writing in general, and writing dramas in particular, are all stages that precede screenwriting as the field that enjoys more attention from the public. Throughout the years, his films remain to be highly valued by the audiences and critics alike. Hamed is one of the earliest Egyptian writers who highlighted terrorism in his work of films, TV series, and published articles, which blacklisted his name during the 1990s. Hamed began his career as a radio scriptwriter in the 1970s with his series Ta'aer El Leil El Hazeen, which achieved massive success and attracted the attention of producers that Hamed transformed it into a film screenplay, which also gained wide acclaim. To date, Wahid Hamed remains the writer with the most works that have been transformed from radio series scripts to movie scripts and acclaimed TV dramas. Among his many successful projects are: Ana Wenty Wa Sa'at Alsafar, El-Donya A'la Genah Yamama, and Kol Haza Al Hob. Since the mid-1980s, Hamed dedicated his attention to cinema. Therefore, he was keen on remaining up to date with the latest screenwriting trends in Egypt and around the world. Hamed insisted on being deeply acquainted with his main characters, which enabled him to present unique and unseen worlds from the top and bottom of Egyptian society equally well, form prisons and detention facilities, to camps of Central Security Forces and the halls of the ruling party, the behind-the-scenes of football matches, luxurious private parties and even thieves' dens and gypsies' hideaways. Throughout his career, Wahid Hamed collaborated with the most prominent directors of different generations, including Samir Seif who helmed over 13 films and TV series written by Wahid, Sherif Arafa (six films), Atef El Tayeb (five films), Hussein Kamal, Yousry Nasrallah, Mohamed Yassin, Tamer Mohsen, Ali Abdel Khalek, Mohamed Abdelaziz, Nader galal, Atef Salem, Omar Abdel Aziz, Muhammad Ali, Sherif Elbendary and Marwan Hamed. Also, his films featured some of the biggest stars, including Adel Emam, Nour El Sherif, Ahmed Zaki, Yousra,Yehia El-Fakharany, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Mahmoud Morsi, Farid Shawqi, Nabila Ebeid, Madiha Kamel, Nadia El Gendy, Elham Shahin and Laila Eloui. Furthermore, his works featured prominent Arab stars, at the time, including Mahmoud Abdel Moghny, Asser Yassin and Mohamed Farrag. In addition, Hamed produced a number of TV series, such as: Al Gawareh, El Bashayer, Eldam w Elnar and Al Gama'a, along with several films like El Lea'b Ma'a Elkobar, El-Mansy, Toyoor El-Zalam, El Noom Fi El Asal and Ma'ali Al-Wazir. Throughout his career, Wahid received full recognition for his works, including dozens of awards and accolades, either granted by the state-run and foreign entities or voted by audience. These awards include the State Appreciation Award (2008), The Nile Prize (2012), which is the highest award granted by the country, The Golden Pyramid Award for Lifetime Achievement from the prestigious Cairo International Film Festival (2020), as well as the America Abroad Media's (AAM) Award (2018). Furthermore, Hamed's films reaped a plethora of Best Screenplay awards, including Best Screenplay Award from the Valencia Film Festival (1991) for Al Le'eb Ma'a Al Kobar (Playing with Giants), Silver Award for Best Film at the Milano Festival for African Cinema (1993) for Al Erhab Wal Kabab (Terrorists and Kebab), and the Arab Lifetime Achievement Award at Dubai International Film Festival.