CAIRO, 16 January 2007 — The decision of a production company, Farah Media, to bring a Syrian actor to the role of the last Egyptian monarch, King Farouk, in a new television film has sparked controversy in film circles in Egypt.
The company yesterday announced its intention to go ahead with the production of the project, titled “King Farouk,” with Syrian actor Tim Hassan in the lead role.
The company selected the actor after it failed to find an Egyptian actor despite its months long efforts to find one, the technical producer of the company, Ismail Ketket told DPA news agency in Cairo yesterday.
Hatem Ali, the Syrian producer of the film said, “the choice of Tim Hassan was not deliberate but rather because every Egyptian actor we approached declined to accept the role.”
On the other hand Egyptian artists and critics expressed their displeasure at the move. They demanded the authorities governing the film industry force the producer to choose an Egyptian actor for the role, according to the Al-Watan daily.
The film will be shot at locations in Cairo, Alexandria and several other European cities.