the mummy/the night of counting the years

MARTIN SCORSESE’S WORLD CINEMA FOUNDATION
Presents the restoration of
THE MUMMY/THE NIGHT OF
COUNTING THE YEARS
(Al Momia)
A FILM BY SHADI ABDEL SALAM (EGYPT, 1969)
Information:
Address:
[email protected]
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Geneva – Switzerland
Film Bookings:
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www.worldcinemafoundation.org
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New York, NY 10019 – USA
Official sponsor - Doha Film Institute
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"I think that the people of my country are ignorant of our history and I feel that it is my
mission to make them know some of it and let the others go on with the rest. I regard
cinema not as a consumerist art, but as a historical document for next generations. […]
Throughout my life, I have protected myself from commercial pollution and enhanced
it with reading, research and education. I have gone through moments of extreme
depression because I didn’t work; time is flying and my head is full of visions which
need to be brought to light. I want to do something worthwhile but lack of facilities
always hampers my dreams. I wish the government would take me under its wing. For
me, work is life. All day long, I read, write, draw, sculpt, take photos and store
everything in my mind in preparation for the day on which I would stand behind the
camera to shoot Akhenaton”.
Shadi Abdel Salam
“Al Momia/The Night of Counting the Years, which is commonly and rightfully
acknowledged as one of the greatest Egyptian films ever made, is based on a true
story: in 1881, precious objects from the Tanite dynasty started turning up for sale,
and it was discovered that the Horabat tribe had been secretly raiding the tombs of the
Pharaohs in Thebes. A rich theme, and an astonishing piece of cinema.
The picture was extremely difficult to see from the 70s onward. I managed to screen a
16mm print which, like all the prints I’ve seen since, had gone magenta. Yet I still found
it an entrancing and oddly moving experience, as did many others. I remember that
Michael Powell was a great admirer.
Al Momia has an extremely unusual tone – stately, poetic, with a powerful grasp of
time and the sadness it carries. The carefully measured pace, the almost ceremonial
movement of the camera, the desolate settings, the classical Arabic spoken on the
soundtrack, the unsettling score by the great Italian composer Mario Nascimbene –
they all work in perfect harmony and contribute to the feeling of fateful inevitability.
Past and present, desecration and veneration, the urge to conquer death and the
acceptance that we, and all we know, will turn to dust...a seemingly massive theme that
the director, Shadi Abdel Salam, somehow manages to address, even embody with his
images. Are we obliged to plunder our heritage and everything our ancestors have held
sacred in order to sustain ourselves for the present and the future? What exactly is our
debt to the past? The picture has a sense of history like no other, and it’s not at all
surprising that Roberto Rossellini agreed to lend his name to the project after reading
the script. And in the end, the film is strangely, even hauntingly consoling – the eternal
burial, the final understanding of who and what we are…
I am very excited that Shadi Abdel Salam’s masterpiece has been restored to its
original splendor”.
Martin Scorsese
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PRODUCTION HISTORY
Shadi Abdel Salam began shooting Al Momia in March 1968 in close collaboration with
director of photography Abdel Aziz Fahmy. The long and complicated production
ended in October of the following year. The shooting was meticulously prepared with
a wealth of pre-production materials, including sketches and storyboards, many of
which have survived to this day.
The progression of sarcophagi
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Al Momia was produced by the State’s “Egyptian Cinema General Organization” and
cost approximately 91.000 Egyptian pounds, or over three times the budget for an
average film. Over half the budget was dedicated to extensive laboratory work
(developing, dubbing, soundtrack etc.), which, like most of Egyptian films at that time,
was carried out at Technostampa laboratories in Rome, Italy.
The musical score was composed in Rome by the Mario Nascimbeni, and the final
magnetic reels were transferred to an optical soundtrack on Agfa Gaevart negative
stock.
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ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Despite having directed only one feature film, Shadi Abdel Salam is considered one of
Egypt’s most important directors, both domestically and abroad.
Abdel Salam was born in March of 1930 in Alexandria in Northern Egypt. At the
age of 13, Abdel Salam was bedridden for two years following the development of a
heart problem. This engendered in him a lifelong passion for reading, as well as
allowing him to develop drawing skills. After graduating from Victoria College, where
he studied drama and visual arts, he traveled to Paris, Rome and London. Upon his
return to Egypt, Abdel Salam began his career in cinema working as an assistant
director to Salah Abou Seif. Abdel Salam’s ability to draw and paint coupled with his
in-depth knowledge of history and Egyptian civilization were quickly noted by his
colleagues, and Abdel Salam quickly moved into working as a set and costume designer
on the most prestigious Egyptian productions.
His experience was not limited to Egyptian films. In 1964 Abdel Salam worked
for of Joseph Mankiewiz on the set of Cleopatra, and in 1967 he conceived the set and
costumes for Roberto Rossellini’s Mankind’s Fight for Survival. Of everyone with whom
Abdel Salam worked it was Rossellini whose influence seems to have been greatest;
after the completion of Mankind’s Fight for Survival, Abdel Salam decided to become a
director himself. Not only did Rossellini encourage him to do so, but also helped him in
executing his first project, The Mummy/The Night of Counting the Years, which remains
a masterpieces to this day.
Despite dedicating twelve years to the preparation of what was to be his next
film, Akhenaton, the project was never realized due to lack of funding. Abdel Salam
ultimately decided to channel his energy towards the production of short films and
documentaries, including The Eloquent Peasant, Horizons, and Tutankhamun’s Chair.
Between 1963–1969 Abdel Salam briefly taught at the Egyptian Film Institute, and in
1970 was was appointed head of the Experimental Film Department by the Ministry of
Culture. He died in 1986 at the age of 56.
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RESTORATION NOTES
The restoration of Al Momia used the original 35mm camera and sound negatives
preserved at the Egyptian Film Center in Giza. The digital restoration produced a new
35mm internegative. The film was restored by the World Cinema Foundation with the
support of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. The restoration was carried out by
Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory and completed in May 2009.
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THE WORLD CINEMA FOUNDATION
The World Cinema Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the
preservation, restoration, and dissemination of neglected films from around the
world. Founded by Martin Scorsese, the foundation helps support and
encourage preservation efforts to save worldwide film patrimony and ensure
that these films are preserved, seen and shared.
“The World Cinema Foundation is a natural expansion of my love for movies. Over twenty
years ago, together with my fellow filmmakers, we created The Film Foundation to help
preserve American cinema. Much has been accomplished and much work remains to be
done, but The Film Foundation has created a base upon which we can build. There is now,
I believe, a film preservation consciousness.
The World Cinema Foundation is being created to help developing countries preserve
their cinematic treasures. We want to help strengthen and support the work of
international archives, and provide a resource for those countries lacking the archival
and technical facilities to do the work themselves.
I am honored to be joined on the Advisory Board of by Fatih Akin, Souleymane Cissé,
Guillermo Del Toro, Stephen Frears, Alejandro Gonzales Iñárritu, Abbas Kiarostami,
Deepa Mehta, Ermanno Olmi, Raoul Peck, Cristi Puiu, Walter Salles, Abderrahmane
Sissako, Elia Suleiman, Bertrand Tavernier, Wim Wenders, Wong Kar Wai,
Zhuangzhuang and other filmmakers who share the common goal.”
Martin Scorsese, Chairman
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SYNOPSIS
Based on the actual discovery of a large cache of royal mummies in Dayr AlBahri, Egypt, in 1881, ‘Night of the Counting Years / The Mummy’ opens in Cairo at a
meeting of the antiquities authorities. Mr. Maspero, the committee’s chairman, alerts
his staff to the recent appearance on the antiquities market of objects that appear to
have been raided from a tomb whose locations had been previously known to
archaeologists. Abdul Kamal, a dedicated member of the committee, travels upriver to
Thebes to discover the location of the secret tomb and protect its contents from the
tomb raider.
Meanwhile, Salim, the chief of the Hurabat, a mountain-dwelling tribe near
Thebes, passes away. Salim had been plundering the tombs for decades, relying upon
the looted goods to sustain his tribe during difficult times. Upon his death the secret of
the tomb’s location is revealed to his sons, who are expected to perform their filial
duty to support their tribe by continuing these raids. Salim’s sons are appalled to learn
that their tribe has been living on the riches of the dead and are thrown into a deep
ethical dilemma about how to proceed: Either they must obey their late father’s wishes
and loot the tombs, or alert the authorities to their tribal elders’ secret and be
banished from their tribe and forced to cut off all ties with their family.
Added to the sons’ dilemma is the pressure being put on boys from Ayoub and
Mourad, two rival merchants who are vying for the boys’ business. Shot in classical
Arabic, Shadi Abdel Salam’s film employs long takes and slow editing to underscore
the weight of the decision faced by the film’s protagonists. A haunting score by Mario
Nascimbene plays under Shadi Abdel Salam’s dreamlike imagery to imbue the film
with a sense of unease, creating a tonal, richly realized meditation on cultural heritage,
the past, and the meaning of death.
TECHNICAL DATA
Egypt, 1969 /Drama/color/ 103 min / Arab with French and English subtitles
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CAST&CREDITS
A Cairo Film production
Presented by the Ministry of Culture, Egyptian Cinema Organization
Directed by Shadi Abdel Salam
Written by Shadi Abdel Salam
Director of Photography: Abdel Aziz Fahmy
Starring Ahmed Marei,(Wannis)
Costumes by Shadi Abdel Salam
Music by Mario Nascimbene
Edited by Kamal Aboul Ela
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