Saad Nadim (Arabic: سعد نديم; February 17, 1920 – March 11, 1980) was an Egyptian documentary film director, considered by many the pioneer of documentary cinema in Egypt and the Arab world.
Early life
Born on February 19, 1920, in Boulaq, an old suburb of Cairo, Saad arrived shortly after the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, which led to his father naming him after the leader of that revolution, Saad Zaghloul, who was an inspirational figure in Egyptian political scene at the time.
Saad joined "Al Farouq" School which was one of the revolting spots from which the demonstrations against colonialism, oppression and foreign privileges took place. Saad was dismissed from the school several times for incitement to demonstrate and eventually finished high school and joined the Faculty of Law in the Cairo university in 1939. Not really fond of the academic nature of his studies in the faculty of law, young Saad decided to drop out and discontinue his law studies. He was deeply affected by Paul Rotha's book "The Documentary Film" which later had a big impact on his career in the years to come, a book he borrowed from his cousin and future business partner, the film director Salah Abu Seif. Mesmerized by the world of documentary cinema, Nadim joined the Cinema Institute in 1944 where his passion for Documentary films evolved leading to a long and prosperous career in the documentary film industry.
Work In the summer of 1944 Saad went to Studio Masr to start his first job as an Editor Assistant in the montage section, which was headed by his cousin Salah Abu Saif. He quickly fell in love with the job as it fits his artistic tendency as well as his personal choice. He learned that arranging shots is one of the most important stages of the film making and that even if the editor has a weak piece of work he must transfer it by cutting, deleting and adjusting the tempo to a coherent and attractive piece of art.
Nadim worked as an assistant for the head of the montage section, Salah Abu Seif in many feature films and really benefited from the experience of the film "Saif Al-Galad" (the Whipper's sword). Cutting and arranging one shot after the other, this movie was growing more and more consistent and the result was that most of the critics praised the montage of the film when it was screened at Cannes Film Festival in 1946.
After less than a year of his work in the montage section, he had the opportunity to work on his first solo editing work in the film “Dunia” directed by Mohammed Karim as recognition of his abilities. For over a quarter of a century he will be involved in the documentary filming as a director, screenwriter, production manager, tutor and the head manager of the National Center for documentary films. He worked on nearly 70 films in almost every category of documentaries: cultural, scientific, artistic, national, news and advertising.
Culture and Leisure Group
Saad Nadim was not just a literal director, Despite his serious interest in all the elements of documentary films, his desire for change was the force which drove him towards the cultural activities. Saad Nadim, Salah Abu Seif, Mohamed Odeh and Asaad Halim established a group and named it the "Culture & Leisure Group". They held seminars where they discussed serious issues concerning ideas, art and reality.
His public activity increased after he was elected as the Secretary of The Cinema Syndicate. As the Syndicate had an educational role for the first time in 1947 when Saad Nadim organized classical shows for German mime cinema.
Travel to London
The Egyptian Government decided to send four young men to England to study various branches, including Saad Nadim for directing. For Saad, England was the mother country of documentary films, which consist of various trends, cultural waves and psychological backgrounds. He was in need of this scholarship after the death of his wife, Bothaina al Nahry, the artist with whom he used to share his aspirations and with whom he had his first son, Anaan.
In England Saad Nadim’s expectations were fulfilled as he found in London a great revival in the film making. In England the universities used to organize uncertified film courses where one of the industry leaders provide students with his theoretical and practical experience and Saad Nadim joined one of these courses at London University.
In the lectures he met “Ahmed Al-Hadary”, a young Egyptian engineering student and a big cinema fan – the dean of the Cinema Institute and the Director of the National Center for Film Culture in the future. Al-Hadary was a prominent member of the “Egyptian Club" which used to sponsor student affairs in England and provide students with discounted tickets to attend theatre performances and musicals, allowing Saad Nadim, Salah Ezz El-Din with the company of Ahmed Al-Hadary of course to see the world classical theatre. And when he met the father of documentary films, John Grierson, and talked to him about his passion for studying documentary film making, he prepared for him a comprehensive course for one and a half years in the motion picture unit attached to "The transportation Authority".
His social connections had grown with the documentary filmmakers in London. When the English filmmaker Sir Arthur Elton, 10th Baronet, who was working in Shell Oil came to Egypt in 1953, he visited the company in Cairo and talked to the workers in the cinema section about that Egyptian man whom he met in London who will build a big legacy in the documentary industry and then he asked the public relations Department of the company to benefit from his energy when he return from England. Nadim worked for the Shell company during the 1950s.
In England Saad met his second wife, Sheila, with whom he had two children, Raamy and Magda.
Filmography +FilmYearDid you know1946Fishing CityArabian Horses1947Modern Egypt1947Sugar Industry in EgyptKafr El-Dawwar FactoriesAlexandria1950Cairo1955Aswan1959To Helwan1959The Red Sea1959Kom OmboEdfuA day in the countryside1949The IndustryThe UpdateColorful Wings1949Archaeological DiscoveriesThe Military Police1954In Suez Canal Area1954Signing the Evacuation AgreementThe Victory Parade1955The 6th of October1974Towards a Better Nutrition1954The Mission of the Syrian Press1955Tanseek al QuahiraThe Story of a BookBuilding the Future1955Let the World Witness1956 Evacuation Celebrations1956Petroleum in EgyptMuseum of Civilization SeriesAmada & IbrimKalabsha & Beit Al WadiAbu SimbelSaving Philae TempleRailroad MuseumThe Art of Our Country SeriesThe NubiansA Story from the Nuba1963A trip to the Nuba Series1961PhilaeKalbsha and Beit Al WaliFrom Dandar to El-Subo3From Amada to IbrimAbu SimbelHeritage of the HumanityLife of the ResidentsThe Artist Ragheb Ayad1965Contemporary Egyptian Art1969The Egyptian Sculptor Anwar Abdel Mawla1970Full-time in photography and sculptureThe Egyptian In 50 years197510 October and Culture 1975Bhzaan in The Garden1976Shame on AmericaWe Are Not AloneEye WitnessAggression towards The Arab Nation1968Peace Not Surrender1957The Road to Peace1966 Defending Peace1972My Beautiful Country1971The Suez Canal1979Decoding Philae Temple1975Between Philae Island and Aiglka1977From Philae to Aiglka1979Diseases Spreaders1948Al-Mowasah Hospital1949Fayoum Water1972Fayoum ExcavationsSuez Canal Convention1955Culture in the Way to Evolution1960El-Mawled1965Youth Festival1974
Awards
- Film Review Award, 1960
- Scenario and directing awards from the Ministry of Culture, 1964
- Certificate of appreciation from the Leipzig Festival for "A story from Nuba"
Sources
- "Saad Nadim: The Documentary Films Pioneer" - Kamal Ramzy
- "The Biography of the Documentary Films Pioneer Saad Nadim" - Mahmoud Sami Atallah
- Salah Ezz eldine, "Arab Documentary Film Production and the use of music in Arab films", United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Report, November 29, 1962
References