Hussein Fahmy: Digital revolution is profoundly transforming cinema’s language

The digital revolution is profoundly transforming the language of cinema, Egyptian actor and director Hussein Fahmy stressed on Saturday in Marrakech.

In an interview with MAP on the sidelines of the 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival, the Egyptian star noted that today’s artists face major challenges with the rise of the Internet, smartphones, and new high technologies, noting that the technological world is evolving at a rapid pace and that cinema is no exception to these transformations.

The emergence of movie streaming platforms has profoundly changed audience habits, argued the man who has worked in the film and television industry for over 50 years, regretting that in the past people had to go to movie theaters, whereas today all you have to do is take out your phone to watch a movie.

Fahmy emphasized that these changes have disrupted the working environment for filmmakers and that directors, producers, and actors must now adapt to new formats, new production schedules, and an audience that is constantly bombarded with a multitude of content.

The real challenge is also human, since in the past, works were more centered on human beings and allowed viewers to experience all the nuances of emotion intensely, along with the actor, he noted.

Today, this connection has weakened to some extent, continued the Egyptian actor, noting that a distance has been created due to the many productions that no longer respect the human dimension, as viewers no longer feel the same intensity of emotions as they once did.

Hussein Fahmy has starred in several famed films such as “The Enemy Brothers,” “The Bullet Is Still in My Pocket,” “Attention Gentlemen!,” “Amira.. My Love” “Night and Desire,” “A Night When the Moon Cried,” “Monsters Run” and “Playing with the Big Boys.”

His prominent status in artistic and cultural realms earned him the position of president of the Cairo International Film Festival.