Syrian Director Hatem Ali Passes Away at 58 in Cairo

Late Syrian director and actor Hatem Ali - Asharq Al-Awsat
Late Syrian director and actor Hatem Ali - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Syrian Director Hatem Ali Passes Away at 58 in Cairo

Late Syrian director and actor Hatem Ali - Asharq Al-Awsat
Late Syrian director and actor Hatem Ali - Asharq Al-Awsat

Syrian director and actor Hatem Ali, considered by many to have been the “godfather of Syrian drama,” passed away of a heart attack in Cairo on Tuesday.

He was mourned both by pro-government and opposition figures.

Ali, 58, was also known to have been a victim of two forced displacements, once as a refugee fleeing the Golan Heights to Damascus and another time in 2011, when he become a supporter of the protests that had erupted that year.

He has won numerous awards throughout his career, and his works were widely received with critical acclaim and commercial success. But out of the tens of works he has been involved in during his career, he is best known for directing renowned historical dramas such as Salah Al-Din Al Ayyubi, The Palestinian Exodus, Omar, and a quartet about the history of Muslim Andalusia.

Since his 2011 exile, Ali has worked on many projects in Egypt, the latest of which was another historical drama ''Once Upon A Time'', which is now available on Netflix.

He had also been planning on directing another Egyptian work, a movie about Mohmad Ali Pasha, before he passed away.

Thousands of fans and tens of those who he had worked with wrote heartfelt messages mourning his death on social media.

From his place of exile in Paris, Syrian director Haitham Haqqi, with whom Hatem began his career as an actor, mourned his loss on Facebook writing: “Hatem, you broke my heart, my brother, my son, my friend and my colleague, an actor, director, and writer. What grief surrounds our suffering Syria.”

On the other hand, official Syrian regime media outlets merely briefly mention the news.

Syrian Jamal Suleiman, who had collaborated with Ali on several occasions, went to the hotel where Ali suddenly passed away to help with the paperwork needed to transfer the body from to a hospital.

His family has said that he will be buried in Damascus upon his will.



Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
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Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Computer drives containing unreleased music by US superstar Beyonce and plans related to her concerts were stolen last week in Atlanta, police said Monday, with a suspect still at large.

The items were stolen from a rental car used by Beyonce's choreographer and a dancer on July 8, two days before the pop icon kicked off the Atlanta leg of her "Cowboy Carter" tour, a police incident report said, according to AFP.

Choreographer Christopher Grant, 37, told police that he returned to the car to find its rear-window smashed and their luggage stolen.

Inside were multiple jump drives that "contained water marked music, some un-released music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set list (sic)," the report said.

Also missing were an Apple MacBook, headphones and several items of luxury clothing.

Police investigated an area where the MacBook and headphones had pinged their location, but the report did not mention any items being recovered.

Atlanta Police said in an online statement that a warrant had been issued for an unnamed suspect's arrest, but that the suspect remained at large.

The "Cowboy Carter" tour kicked off in April after the global superstar took home her first "Album of the Year" Grammy for the 2024 album.

The sweeping country-themed work saw Beyonce stake out musical territory in a different genre from much of her previous discography.

The ambitious, historically rooted album also aimed to elevate and showcase the work of other Black artists in country music, whose rich contributions the industry has repeatedly sidelined.

As her stadium tour to promote the album winds down, Beyonce ended her four-night stint in Atlanta on Monday, with two final performances set for late July in Las Vegas.