Artists' Television Access

Nasser 56: On the History of Struggle in Egypt

Thursday, March 10, 2011, 7:30 pm, $6

The black-and-white film depicts the tumultuous period of 1956 when the controversial Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser stunned the world by seizing the Suez canal from its European owners, and declared it Egyptian property. The movie uses actual newsreel footage to illustrate the ensuing battle that pitted Egypt against Israel, Britain and France. The superpowers suppressed the crisis, and Egypt gained permanent control of the canal. At the time of the film’s release, Egyptian director Mohamed Fadel explained how Nasser 56 struck a special chord among Egypt’s disenchanted youth. “The Egyptian
youth are in search of a feeling of superiority and invincibility. The events surrounding the canal represent, for the youth, true heroism.” 1996, 142min.
Sponsored by the ANSWER Coalition