Umm Kulthum: A voice like Egypt

D: Michal Goldman, USA 1996, 67 min, English OV

Every other cafe in Berlin‘s Neukölln is named after her: Umm Kulthum, the diva of Arabic music, her skill and stage presence comparable only to Maria Callas. Born a farmer's daughter in the Nile Delta at the beginning of the 20th century, she rose to become a wealthy and powerful woman. At her funeral in 1975, four million people lined the streets of Cairo. In "Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt," the Boston-based documentary filmmaker Michal Goldman went in search of the woman who would become the symbol of the hopes and aspirations of an entire country on the path to a post-colonial modernity. Omar Sharif wrote the screenplay for this award-winning documentary.

More information and trailer on www.arabfilm.com