Samir Farid (Arabic: سمير فريد, [sæˈmiːɾ fæˈɾiːd]) (December 1, 1943 – April 4, 2017) was an Egyptian writer and a world renowned film critic, journalist and film historian based in Cairo. He authored and/or translated over 60 books since 1966 on Egyptian, Arab and World cinema. He was the consultant for Cinema affairs in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. (2001-2016).
He was a member of jury in International film festivals since 1972. (Among them Oberhausen Film Festival 1978, DOC Leipzig Film festival 1984, Annecy International Animated Film Festival 1998, Torino Film Festival 2001, Controcorrente (Upstream section) of Venice Film Festival 2003, Thessaloniki Film Festival 2003 and Taormina Film Festival 2010.)
He also was the Head of The Cairo International Film Festival 2014.
Samir Farid was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1943. He graduated in 1965 from the High Institute of Dramatic Arts, department of Criticism, Academy of Arts. His graduation thesis was entitled "The Meaning of Silence in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett". He also worked as the film Critic of Al-Gomhoreya daily in Cairo since 1965. Since 1967, he has been invited to more than 200 film festivals and seminars in Africa, Asia, USA and Europe.
He was a member of the Board in the Egyptian magazines Al-Cinema (1969) and Al-Talliaa (Arabic: الطليعة ) in 1973, the Algerian magazine Al-Shshtan (1979) and the Cypriot magazine Al-Ofok (1987).
He was a co-Founder of the National Festival of Short and Documentary films (1970), the National Festival of Feature Films (1971), the Arab Film Critics Union and the Egyptian Film Critics Association, (1972).
Member of FIPRESCI since 1971.
Member of International Jury Boards since 1972.
The editor-in-chef of the Egyptian weekly journal El-Cinema Wa El-Finoun, 1977.
Member of the International Initiating Committee of the General History of Cinema 1982.
The representative of Variety in Cairo 1981- 1985.
Member of the Consultative Board of the Minister of Culture, 1989.
The Cinema Supervisor at Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 2001.
Awards, prizes and medals
Won Cannes Film Festival Gold Medal among 20 critics on the occasion of the New Millennium, 2000.Winner of Cannes Film Festival Gold Medal among 20 critics on the occasion of the festival Golden Jubilee, 1997.The Egyptian State Prize (Arabic: جائزة الدولة ) of Superiority in Arts from the Supreme Council of Culture, 2002Winner of lifetime Achievement Award of the Osian film festival, New Delhi, 2012.Winner of lifetime Achievement Award of the Dubai film festival, Dubai, 2013.Cinema 65, Cairo, 1966Film Guide 66, Cairo, 1967U.S.A. Films in the Arab World, Cairo, 1967Fahrenheit 451 (Film by François Truffaut), Cairo, 1967The World through the Eye of the Camera (Cinema 66-67), Cairo, 1968Cinema 69 (Cinema 68-69), Cairo, 1970Cinema 70, Cairo, 1971Dictionary of Selected Egyptian Film Directors, Cairo, 1974October War into Film, Cairo, 1975On Cannes Festival (1967–1973), Cairo, 1978Arab Cinema Guide(Arabic-English) (Dossier on Egypt), Cairo, 1978Arab Cinema Guide(Arabic-English) (Dossier on Iraq), Cairo, 1979Reflections on Contemporary Cinema, Baghdad, 1979Studies on Arab Cinema, Beirut, 1981An introduction to Zionism Cinema, Beirut, 1981Shakesperian Films, Beirut, 1981The Identity of the Arab Cinema, Beirut, 1988Naguib Mahfouz and the Cinema, Cairo, 1990Dialogue with 24 World Film, Cairo, 1991Reflections on Chahine's Cinema, Cairo, 1992The New Realism in Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 1992Cannes Film Festival (1946–1991), Beirut, 1992The Arab-Zionism Conflict in Cinema, Cairo, 1992Cinema of Oppression, Cinema of Liberation, Damascus, 1992Dialogues With 15 Egyptian Filmmakers, Cairo, 1993Children Cinema, Cairo, 1994Unknown Pages in Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 1994Faten Hamama, Cairo, 1995Reflections on Chahine's Cinema (2nd Edition), Cairo, 1997The Palestinian Cinema in the Occupied Lands, Cairo, 1997The Contemporary Arab Cinema, Cairo, 1998The History of the Filmmakers' Syndicate in Egypt, Cairo, 1999Hassan Imam Omar: The Pillar of the Cinema Press in Egypt, Cairo, 1999The Writers of Egypt and the Cinema, Cairo, 1999Directors and Directions in Arab Cinema, Bahrain, 2000Directors and Directions in Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 2000Zouzou Hamdi El-Hakim: A Pioneer of Acting and Enlightenment, Cairo, 2000Stars and Legends in Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 2000Films in the Shadow, Cairo, 2000Introduction to the History of Arab Cinema, Cairo, 2000Introduction to the History of Arab Cinema (Italian), Tunis, 2001Directors and Directions in American Cinema, Damascus, 2001The History of Film Censorship in Egypt, Cairo, 2002Shakespeare, The Screen Writer, Cairo, 2002Cannes Film Festival Guide (1946–2001), Alexandria, 2002Studies on the History of Egyptian Cinema, Cairo, 2002Directors and Directions in European Cinema, Damascus, 2003World Writers and cinema, Cairo, 2003Venice Film Festival Guide (1932–2003), Alexandria, 2004Political Issues on Cinema Screen, Damascus, 2004The Cinema in the European Union Member States (4 Volumes), Cairo, 2004Cinema and Arts, Cairo, 2005The New Wave in Egyptian Cinema, Damascus, 2005
