Thursday, October 31, 2024, 7:00 pm, classic-editor
In celebration of Halloween, the 28th Arab Film Festival proudly presents AL-TA’WEEZA (THE CURSE) from 1987 by Mohamed Shebl.
In the last few years, audiences across the globe have rediscovered and fallen in love with the film Anyab (Fangs), a 1980s horror-musical that is a vampiric Arab spinoff of the beloved 1975 American cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Anyab is the work of Mohammed Shebl, an Egyptian filmmaker and critic who is known for his campy horror films and his work both with and about famed filmmaker Youssef Chahine. Shebl sadly passed away in 1996 at just 47 years old and in the years since then, his work has become more and more difficult to access. While many respected film and cultural institutions have screened Anyab, audiences may have noticed that every screening features a low quality print with the logo for a now defunct cable channel in the corner. The only place anyone seems to know where to access this film is through the Internet Archive. The rest of his work is nearly impossible to find, especially with English subtitles, as no one knows who holds the original copies of Shebl’s work.
Earlier this year, the Arab Film and Media Institute was able to access one of Shebl’s other horror films, Al-ta’weeza, also known as The Curse or The Talisman in English. In the film, high school teacher Mahmoud and his family live in a small, rundown home. Mahmoud is under pressure to sell the house to an odd realtor who comes by one day, despite the state of the building. When he refuses the offer, strange and scary things begin to happen to his family. Furniture spontaneously combusts, they are attacked in their beds and an invisible presence settles in the home, trying to drive them out. The film stars a number of very accomplished Egyptian actors, the most famous of which is Yousra, whose work as an actress and singer has made her a glamorous icon of the region.
Similar to other recent screenings of Shebl’s work, this copy of Al-ta’weeza may not at its best quality and still bears a cable logo in the top right corner but despite this, fans of a campy 1980’s horror films will still enjoy Shebl’s creepy, bizarre (and surprisingly funny) work and appreciate the rarity of this special screening.
About the Filmmaker:
Mohamed Shebl was a director, actor, critic and screenwriter, born in 1949. He received a master’s degree in sciences studying Chinese and Russian languages from the Institute of Oriental Studies at Moscow University in 1976. He directed 12 documentaries about the life of director Youssef Chahine and directed a number of campy horror films, the most famous of which is ANYAB (FANGS) from 1981 which has become a cult favorite. He passed away October 2, 1996 at the age of 47.