The Screening Room
SHOW #13
Cairo
'The Screening Room' heads for Cairo in March to examine the Hollywood of Arab cinema. Egypt's film history dates back more than a hundred years and in its Golden Era, produced 150 movies per-year. This figure slumped to a mere eight per-year under government control during the 70s and 80s, but in the 90s, private money entered the arena leading to a period of relatively narrow formulaic film production.
Three years ago, a new media giant burst onto the scene under the name 'Good News'; the company shattered production budgets, hired megastars on big salaries and tackled previous taboos such as religion and sexual relations. Its latest blockbuster is 'Baby Doll Night', a comedy about changes in East-West relations in the wake of 9/11, and 'The Screening Room' visits the set of the new movie with the head of 'Good News' before hearing from some top Egyptian directors as well as acting legends, Omar Sharif and Youssra.
The show also reports on last month's Berlin Film Festival which was over-run by musicians! From Madonna premiering her directorial debut, to The Rolling Stones in Martin Scorsese's documentary 'Shine A Light' as well as a behind the scenes look at the band Gorillaz in 'Bananaz'. 'The Screening Room's host Myleene Klass brings viewers an aural treat in March.
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