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Graduating Class of Film Students Named 'Samir Seif Class' at Jesuit Cairo

Graduating Class of Film Students Named 'Samir Seif Class' at Jesuit Cairo
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Graduating Class of Film Students Named 'Samir Seif Class' at Jesuit Cairo

Graduating Class of Film Students Named 'Samir Seif Class' at Jesuit Cairo

With a flood of love, the name of the late Egyptian director, Samir Seif, echoed through the walls of the Scientific and Cultural Renaissance Association (Jesuit Cairo) during the graduation ceremony of the 11th batch of the association's Film School, after choosing the name of the late director of this year’s graduates, “Samir Seif graduating class.” The Film School, located in the Faggala neighborhood in the center of the Egyptian capital, is one of the most prestigious institutions founded by the Al-Nahda Association (Cairo Jesuit).

The film school offers full scholarships to accepted students, and it provides them with the opportunity to learn filmmaking and film production using alternative methods. The school was established in 2005 as one of the components of the project "Supporting freedom of artistic expression" in Cairo and Upper Egypt. In addition to the Film School, the Jesuit Association also has established a number of programs aimed at film education. Including the establishment of the Documentary Film School in Upper Egypt, and Stories of the South workshops, which provide a set of workshops on film-making in the south.

The school takes a holistic approach to filmmaking, so that trainees can become well versed in all fields and stages of filmmaking. The program consists of lectures, training, activities and group discussions with filmmakers and specialists in various artistic and intellectual fields, in addition to a set of practical workshops in the fields of cinematography, scenario writing, photography, sound, editing, production, distribution, and directing.

According to Dr. Marwa Abdullah Al-Sayed, director of the Jesuit Film School, this year’s graduating class was named after the late Samir Seif in honor of the role he played teaching this class’s students the fundamentals of filmmaking in the months leading up to his sudden death. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, she says, “As soon as we contacted him, he expressed readiness to support the film school, despite his great commitments and preoccupations during that period, and he believed in supporting the film school and its students. So, we named this year’s graduating class after him, in an attempt to express our gratitude and our recognition of his generosity to students, noting that this is the first time in the history of the film school that a class of graduates is named after a filmmaker."

Samir Seif died in December of last year, at the age of 72, and many of his movies are considered milestones in the history of Egyptian cinema; including The suspect, A stranger in my house, Pleasure market and His Excellency the Minister. In addition to directing, the late director was also taught at several universities.

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Damascus’ Mazzeh 86 Neighborhood, Witness of The Two-Assad Era

Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
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Damascus’ Mazzeh 86 Neighborhood, Witness of The Two-Assad Era

Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi

In the Mazzeh 86 neighborhood, west of the Syrian capital Damascus, the names of many shops, grocery stores, and public squares still serve as a reminder of the era of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad.

This is evident in landmarks like the “Al-Hafez Restaurant,” one of the prominent features of this area. Squares such as “Al-Areen,” “Officers,” and “Bride of the Mountain” evoke memories of the buildings surrounding them, which once housed influential officials and high-ranking officers in intelligence and security agencies. These individuals instilled fear in Syrians for five decades until their historic escape on the night of the regime’s collapse last month.

In this neighborhood, the effects of Israeli bombing are clearly visible, as it was targeted multiple times. Meanwhile, its narrow streets and alleys were strewn with military uniforms abandoned by leaders who fled before military operations arrived and liberated the area from their grip on December 8 of last year.

Here, stark contradictions come to light during a tour by Asharq Al-Awsat in a district that, until recently, was largely loyal to the former president. Muaz, a 42-year-old resident of the area, recounts how most officers and security personnel shed their military uniforms and discarded them in the streets on the night of Assad’s escape.

He said: “Many of them brought down their weapons and military ranks in the streets and fled to their hometowns along the Syrian coast.”

Administratively part of Damascus, Mazzeh 86 consists of concrete blocks randomly built between the Mazzeh Western Villas area, the Mazzeh Highway, and the well-known Sheikh Saad commercial district. Its ownership originally belonged to the residents of the Mazzeh area in Damascus. The region was once agricultural land and rocky mountain terrain. The peaks extending toward Mount Qasioun were previously seized by the Ministry of Defense, which instructed security and army personnel to build homes there without requiring property ownership documents.

Suleiman, a 30-year-old shop owner, who sells white meat and chicken, hails from the city of Jableh in the coastal province of Latakia. His father moved to this neighborhood in the 1970s to work as an army assistant.

Suleiman says he hears the sound of gunfire every evening, while General Security patrols roam the streets “searching for remnants of the former regime and wanted individuals who refuse to surrender their weapons. We fear reprisals and just want to live in peace.”

He mentioned that prices before December 8 were exorbitant and beyond the purchasing power of Syrians, with the price of a kilogram of chicken exceeding 60,000 Syrian pounds and a carton of eggs reaching 75,000.

“A single egg was sold for 2,500 pounds, which is far beyond the purchasing power of any employee in the public or private sector,” due to low salaries and the deteriorating living conditions across the country,” Suleiman added.

On the sides of the roads, pictures of the fugitive president and his father, Hafez al-Assad, were torn down, while military vehicles were parked, awaiting instructions.

Maram, 46, who previously worked as a civilian employee in the Ministry of Defense, says she is waiting for the resolution of employment statuses for workers in army institutions. She stated: “So far, there are no instructions regarding our situation. The army forces and security personnel have been given the opportunity for settlement, but there is no talk about us.”

The neighborhood, in its current form, dates back to the 1980s when Rifaat al-Assad, the younger brother of former President Hafez al-Assad, was allowed to construct the “Defense Palace,” which was referred to as “Brigade 86.” Its location is the same area now known as Mazzeh Jabal 86.

The area is divided into two parts: Mazzeh Madrasa (School) and Mazzeh Khazan (Tank). The first takes its name from the first school built and opened in the area, while the second is named after the water tank that supplies the entire Mazzeh region.

Two sources from the Mazzeh Municipality and the Mukhtar’s office estimate the neighborhood’s current population at approximately 200,000, down from over 300,000 before Assad’s fall. Most residents originate from Syria’s coastal regions, followed by those from interior provinces like Homs and Hama. There was also a portion of Kurds who had moved from the Jazira region in northeastern Syria to live there, but most returned to their areas due to the security grip and after the “Crisis Cell” bombing that killed senior security officials in mid-2012.

Along the main street connecting Al-Huda Square to Al-Sahla Pharmacy, torn images of President Hafez al-Assad are visible for the first time in this area in five decades. On balconies and walls, traces of Bashar al-Assad’s posters remain, bearing witness to his 24-year era.