THE WORKER is an early film production that produced images of workers suffering in factories. Directed by Ahmad Kamel Mursi in 1943, the film was shot in a real factory and in the newly established national studios in Egypt. It was produced by its protagonist Hussein Sedky, who shortly afterwards turned to producing films that supported conservative religious and patriarchal values. One of the film's main scenes is around a worker who is injured in an accident during his shift in the factory. The Egyptian authorities censored the film just before its second screening in 1943. The film was distributed by Behna Film Selections, which today has become Wekalet Behna, an art space and film archive project that has the film’s materials. But the film prints are lost, or perhaps were among the Egyptian film collection that was sold to Saudi media corporations.
This presentation, part of the Wekalet Behna archive project, attempts to investigate, imagine, and restore THE WORKER through materials compiled from different resources.
Ali Hussein Al Adawy is an Alexandria-based film curator, editor, and critic of moving images, urban artistic practices, and cultural history.
All panels, talks, and presentations in English.
Photo: Film crew of THE WORKER © Basil Behna
