Sanaa Gamil
Sanaa Gamil (Arabic: سناء جميل), born Thoraya Youssef Atallah (Arabic: ثريا يوسف عطالله) (April 27, 1930 – December 22, 2002),[1] was an Egyptian actress.[2] She is one of the most prominent artistic figures in the golden age of Egyptian film industry.[3]
Sanaa Gamil | |
---|---|
سناء جميل | |
![]() Sanaa Gamil in 1965 | |
Born | Thoraya Youssef Atallah ثريا يوسف عطالله April 27, 1930 Minya Governorate, Egypt |
Died | December 22, 2002 72) Cairo, Egypt | (aged
Occupation | Actress |
Spouse | Louis Greiss |
Honours | Order of Sciences and Arts |
Early life
Born Thoraya Atallah, in Minya Governorate on April 27, 1930. She was an orphan, thrown out by her elder brother from their home on a cold night for his refusal of allowing his sister to enter the movie business. She endured much before entering the world of professional acting, but was exceptional and endowed with an individual style in performance, regardless of the nature of the characters she personified. She moved to Cairo to pursue her acting career. In an interview with her, Sanaa spoke about the suffering she experienced, crying, frightened, the day her brother spelled her our was the day the Cairo Fire happened. This made this day unforgettable for her whole life.[4] She sought refuge with director Zaki Tulaimat, who helped her live in a student hostel and included her in the “Modern Theater” troupe. Tulaimat chose her stage name, Sanaa Gamil. The daughter of an aristocratic family and a graduate of French schools, she worked in detail so that she could spend on finances. She used to sleep on the tiles sometimes.[5]
Career
Gamil started her career on stage, afterwards, she was casted in her early career in minor roles in a couple of successful films, such as My Father Deceived Me (1951) directed by Mahmoud Zulfikar, A Window Overlooking Paradise (1953) by Ahmed Diaa Eddine, Shame on You (1953) directed by Essa Karama, starring Ismail Yassine, and April’s Fool (1954) by Mohamed Abdel-Gawad.[6] One of her most notable roles was Nefisah in front of Omar Sharif in the movie The Beginning and the End (1960) directed by Salah Abouseif. The film was based on a novel with the same name by the Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz. Sanaa Gamil won the best supporting actress award at the Moscow Film Festival in 1961 for her role in this movie.[7][8]

After her breakthrough in 1960, she starred in a number of successful productions such as: The Impossible (1965) by Hussein Kamal. Her notable roles include; The Second Wife (1967) by Salah Abu Seif, The Message (1976), La Dame du Caire (1992), The Unknown (1984), Edhak El Soora Tetla Helwa (1998) directed by Sherif Arafa. She had four of her films voted for by critics and featured among "the 100 best ever made Egyptian films in the 20th century" list back in 1996. Not only a film actress, but more importantly a highly respected theater actress, one of the best Egyptian theater actresses. She has also played a number of roles on the French Stage for the Comédie-Française.[9] Her notable roles on stage include; The Cactus Flower (1967), Carte Blanch (1970), and Cabaret (1974). Gamal acted in a number of television series such as Ta'er EL Bahr (Sea Bird) with Salah Zulfikar in 1972 and Oyoun (Eyes) with Fouad el-Mohandes in 1980, and in a number of plays such as The Visit (El-Zeyara) with Gamil Ratib.[7] In 1988, she had another career peak with The White Flag (El Raya El-Bayda), a powerful social drama miniseries where she played the role of Fadda El Maadawi, an illiterate rich woman.[10]
In 2016 the Egyptian director Rogina Bassaly,[11] made a documentary film about her, It's "Sana's Tale" ("حكاية سناء").[12][13] Sanaa Gamil received Order of Sciences and Arts from President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1969, and received another one from President Anwar Sadat in 1976.[14]
Personal life
Sanaa Gamil was married to the renowned Egyptian journalist Louis Greiss. She met him in 1960, at a farewell party for a Sudanese journalist who had completed her training at Rose al-Yūsuf. She kept getting his name wrong throughout the party and calling him Youssef. Louis Greiss was attached to her, but he thought that their marriage was impossible, as he believed that she was a Muslim because of her frequent saying, “By the Prophet.” He even thought about declaring his conversion to Islam in order to marry her. Afterwards, he discovered that she was a Christian, so he proposed to her, and they married with two rings whose price did not exceed 10 Egyptian pounds.

Greiss told about the day of their marriage on Sunday, that the priest refused to complete the marriage without the presence of guests and witnesses, so he went to the newspaper Rose al-Yūsuf, where he worked, and rented 7 vehicles in which he gathered 35 of his colleagues to resolve the crisis. They spent their honeymoon moving between several governorates due to Sanaa’s connection to the number From theatrical performances.[15][16] The love story and marriage of Sanaa and Louis was one of the most famous and beautiful love stories that surpasses romantic novels. Gamil would always swear by his name, saying, “With the life of Louis.” The loving husband responded to her desire not to have children and devote herself to art, and each of them was the focus of the other’s life.[17]
Honours
Ribbon bar | Country | Honour | Year |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | ![]() | Order of Sciences and Arts | 1969 |
![]() | ![]() | Order of Sciences and Arts | 1976 |
Selected filmography
Film
- Edhak el soura tetlaa helwa (1998)
- Sawaq El Hanem (1994)
- La Dame du Caire (1992)
- The Unknown (1984)
- The Message (1976)
- Hekmatak ya rab (1976) .... Om Naima
- The Second Wife (1967) .... Wife
- Dawn of a New Day (1965) …. Naila
- The Impossible (1965)
- The Beginning and the End (1960)
- People of Love (1955)
- April's Fool (1954)
- Abid el mal (1953)
- Ana bint min? (1953)
- A Window Overlooking Paradise (1953)
- My Father Deceived Me (1951)
Television
- Sea Bird (1972)
- Oyoun (1980)
- El Raya El Baeda (1988)
References
- "Memory of the day: Birth of Egypt's Sanaa Gamil in 1930". EgyptToday. 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- "Remembering Sanaa Gamil: Flourishing between stage and screen - Stage & Street - Arts & Culture". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- "" سناء جميل".. نجمة هوليوود الشرق في فيلم تسجيلى". العين الإخبارية (in Arabic). 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- "سعيد الشحات يكتب: ذات يوم 22 ديسمبر 2002.. دفن الفنانة سناء جميل دون أن يظهر أحد من أهلها بعد انتظار ثلاثة أيام من وفاتها". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2018-12-22. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- "نامت على البلاط وظل جثمانها 3 أيام بلا أهل.. محطات الوجع فى حياة سناء جميل". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2020-12-22. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- "Lesser Known Facts about Sanaa Gamil on Her 92nd Birth Anniv. | Sada Elbalad". see.news. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- Al Ahram weekely article on Sanaa Gamil Archived 2007-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
- هاذا الشهر (in Arabic). Hayʼat Abū Ẓaby lil-Siyāḥah wa-al-Thaqāfah. 2009.
- Khouri, Malek (2010). The Arab National Project in Youssef Chahine's Cinema. American Univ in Cairo Press. ISBN 978-977-416-354-8.
- "Lesser Known Facts about Sanaa Gamil on Her 92nd Birth Anniv. | Sada Elbalad". see.news. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- روجينا بسالي
- "Remembering Sanaa Gamil: Flourishing between stage and screen". 20 Dec 2017.
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(help) - "Sanaa Gamil". MUBI. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- "سعيد الشحات يكتب: ذات يوم 22 ديسمبر 2002.. دفن الفنانة سناء جميل دون أن يظهر أحد من أهلها بعد انتظار ثلاثة أيام من وفاتها". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2018-12-22. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- "قصة حب سناء جميل ولويس جريس.. رفضت الإنجاب منه وأراد إشهار إسلامه لأجلها". مصراوي.كوم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- "Egyptian writer Louis Greiss dies aged 90 - Dailynewsegypt". 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- "أجمل قصة حب..لماذا رفض القسيس إتمام زواج سناء جميل ولويس جريس؟". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
External links
- Sanaa Gamil at IMDb
- Bidaya wa nihaya on IMDB
- https://elcinema.com/work/2060718/
- Sanaa Gamil at ElCinema