Alexandria, Why? August 13, 2011

Director Youssef Chahine pieces together a vivacious panorama of upper class life in the titular Mediterranean port city: Yehia, standing in for Chahine, is obsessed with MGM musicals and dreams of studying acting in the USA; a beautiful Jewish socialite must decide between fleeing with her father or staying with her Arab lover; a wealthy aristocrat (Egyptian cinema’s first openly gay character) becomes enamored with a young British soldier. Chahine masterfully weaves these interrelated storylines together to create a magnificent historical and autobiographical tapestry.

This film is part of the Once Upon a Time in the Middle East series in conjunction with the exhibition Gifts of the Sultan currently on view at LACMA.

Official Website: http://www.lacma.org/event/alexandria-why