Omar Sharif goes back to his roots
Actor lines up Arab projects
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Thesp will appear in a number of Arab projects in the coming months.
Sharif will star as Libyan revolutionary leader Omar Mukhtar in a $50 million pic scripted and financed by Libyan prexy Moammar Gaddafi.
“Years of Torment,” or “Dhulm” in Arabic, will detail the three-decade Italian occupation of Libya from 1911-43 through firsthand accounts written by Libyans and international witnesses.
Mukhtar led the Libyan uprising before being executed by Italian forces in 1931.
Pic will mark the feature film debut of Syrian helmer-producer Najdat Anzour, already famous across the Arab world for his hot-button Ramadan skeins. Lensing begins in June.
“Mr. Gaddafi asked me to play the part and sent his ministers to come and see me so I said OK,” Sharif told Variety. “It’s well-written but in classical Arabic so I’m learning right now.”
Sharif has also teamed up with Egypt’s biggest box office draw Adel Imam on “Hassan and Morcoss,” a laffer that pokes fun at religious bigotry.
The story revolves around a Christian priest (Imam) and Muslim preacher (Sharif) who, after surviving separate assassination attempts go on the run and assume different identities, with Imam’s character pretending to be a Muslim and Sharif a Christian.
Sharif is hoping the pic, which Egyptian shingle the Good News Group is financing and releasing in Egypt, will help curb some of the religious tensions in the Middle East.
“Muslims are killing Muslims, Christians are killing Christians. It’s unbearable for me and really absurd,” Sharif said. “I’m an old man now and I’m trying to make films which mean something. The film is really funny and at the same time gives you something to think about.”
Good News Group will be releasing the pic on 100 prints in Egypt in late June, accounting for more than half the screens in the country.
The shingle will also be releasing hot-button feature “The Baby Doll Night” in early June on what will be the biggest-ever theatrical release.
The $7 million pic, which tackles 70 years of East-West relations, including the Holocaust, Arab-Israeli conflict, Sept. 11 attacks as well as the Iraq war, received its world preem in market at Cannes.
Good News exec producer Adel Adeeb also helmed the project, which is one of the highest-profile Arab pics coming out this summer. Script was written by Adeeb’s father Abdel Hay Adeeb who passed away last June following a pioneering career as one of the towering figures of Egyptian cinema, penning 122 screenplays throughout his career.
