Years active 1998 - Present Role Film producer | Name Hisham Khalek Plays Akhenaten | |
Full Name Hisham Ahmed Abdel Khalek Matook Born December 25, 1979 (age 44) ( 1979-12-25 ) Giza, Egypt Occupation Director, Writer, Producer and Distributor | ||
Hisham Abdel Khalek (Arabic: ) is an Egyptian film and theater producer, director and scriptwriter who lives between Paris, France and New York, United States. Born as Hisham Ahmed Abdel Khalek Matook (Arabic: ) on 25 December 1979 - Giza, Egypt
Contents
Biography
He studied computer science and graduated from the Modern Academy in Maadi – Egypt. At age of 18, he started his career in the art field and opened the first Arabic e-magazine named “Alam El Fonoun”. At the age of 19, he joined the team of Alexandria International Film Festival as public relation director and became the year after the artistic director of the festival.
In 2002, he was involved in the production of opera “Aida” in Doha, Qatar and “Aida” under the pyramids of Giza (Egypt) as the artistic director. He produced a series of operas and classic music concerts in Egypt, Syria, Dubai and other countries. His operatic repertoire includes 20 operas ranging from Aida, Tosca, Carmen, Rigoletto, La Traviata, La Boheme to Turandot.
He also founded the international animation celebration in Dubai. He worked as a consultant and director of many companies including Studio 7 productions, Nile Cinema, Star Animation, Mizalat, Capacity World and others. In 2003 he founded his own production company “AraMage Artistic Production” in Damascus, Syria then moved to Cairo, Egypt. He produced and distributed more than 20 films, short movies and documentaries. He is a consultant of 23 international film festivals in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. He participated as a jury member in many international film festivals.
He is currently writing and producing a movie called “To Whom it May Concern” to be directed by Khaled El Hagar. He is also associate / artistic producer and co-scriptwriter of the adaptation for cinema of opera “Aida” in animation by Philippe Druillet, and Guillaume Hecht, a French (Guillaume Hecht)-Belgian (Jean-Luc Van Damme) co-production., a Franco Belgium co production. In 2008, he co-founded with Olivier Delesse their production company "So Freakantastik", a French production house. Finally, he is also consultant with Salon du Cinema (Paris Cinema Fair) since 2008.
From 2009 to 2011, Hisham Abdel Khalek was the European distributor of Al Arabia Cinema and responsible for the PR of Al Arabia Cinema in Europe, one of the biggest cinema groups in Middle East.
In 2013 he created his new musical production Akhenaten The Musical, Book by Hisham Abdel Khalek and Mohamed Metwally, Lyrics by Mohamed Metwally and Music by Hesham Nazih. The New Broadway Bound in development now in New York .
In 2014, he co-founded with Olivier Delesse their New York production company “H & O Productions”.
In early 2015, Hisham Abdel Khalek became a member of SDC "Stage Directors and Choreographers Society" and produced concert highlights of Akhenaten the Musical at Queens Central Library, Stage 72/The Triad and Feinstein's/54 Below in New York City. On October 13, 2015, Hisham Abdel Khalek directed the gala dinner hosted by Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York in front of the Temple of Dendur where 4 songs from Akhenaten the Musical were performed. Attended by more than 600 Permanent Representatives of UN member States, high ranking UN officials and representatives from the business community, politics and the media in New York and Washington DC, the event was part of the candidature of Egypt for a non-permanent member seat at the UN Security Council, that Egypt later obtained on October 15, 2015 with 179 votes out of 190.
Filmography and Works
Producer
2013 – Akhenaten The Musical – Hisham Abdel Khalek (The New Broadway Bound musical In development - New York)
2012 – Blood on the Nile – Hisham Abdel Khalek (In preproduction – TV Series)
2012 – Queen Farida – TBA (In preproduction)
2012 – To whom it may concern – TBA (In preproduction)
2009 – Salam Ya Joe – by Hisham Abdel Khalek
2008 – Fatoush – by Hisham Abdel Khalek
2008 – Destinee – by Hisham Abdel Khalek
2005 – Healing Power – by Ramses Marzouk
2004 – 3029 TD - by Rosh Abdelfatah
2004 – Dag - by Rosh Abdelfatah
Scriptwriter
2013 – Akhenaten The Musical – Hisham Abdel Khalek (The New Broadway Bound musical In development - New York)
2012 – To whom it may concern – TBA (In preproduction)
2010 – Aida – Philippe Druillet and Guillaume Hecht
2009 – Salam Ya Joe – Hisham Abdel Khalek
2008 – Fatoush – Hisham Abdel Khalek
2008 – To whom it may concern – Khaled El Hagar
2008 – Un Siecle de Cinema Egyptien – Hisham Abdel Khalek
2008 – Dalida, Queen of the Nile – Hisham Abdel Khalek
Director
2015 - Egyptian Permanent Mission to the UN Gala Event on October 13th at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
2015 - Dark Future music video from Akhenaten The Musical featuring Seph Stanek (6')
2015 - O My Son music video from Akhenaten The Musical featuring N'Kenge (5')
2013 – Akhenaten The Musical – Hisham Abdel Khalek (The New Broadway Bound musical In development - New York)
2011 – El Masryeen Band Concert at Sakia El Sawy Cultural Center
2010 – Portrait of Esaad Younis (15’)
2009 – Arab Cultural Festival in Paris opening and closing gala at UNESCO and Mairie du 15e arrondissement
2009 – Salam Ya Joe (7’)
2008 – Fatoush (10’)
24eme Marche du film court - Festival International du Court Metrage - Clermont-Ferrand
10eme Marche du film court - Festival Tous Courts
Marche du film - 23e edition du Festival Europeen du Film Court de Brest
2008 – Destinee (15')
15th International Short Film Market Cinema Jove
19º Festival Internacional de Curtas de Sao Paulo - Brazil
2006 – Ramses the last pharaoh of Al Rahamesa (52’)
2005 – Love is hard, a video clip of Gasser (2’)
2004 – Images of war, short documentary (6’)
2002 – Making of Aida Qatar (25’)
2002 – Making of Aida Pyramids (25’)
2000 – Portrait for Alexandria Film Festival about Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Faten Hama and Naguib Mahfouz (3’)
Distributor
Al Arabia Cinema films, various documentaries, TV programs and short feature films for Europe