Maher Sabry ( ar, ماهر صبري; born 11 April 1967) is an Egyptian theater director, playwright, film director, producer and screenwriter, poet, writer and cartoonist.
Biography
A
gay activist, he was the first director to portray gay and lesbian love in lyrical and sympathetic manner on Egyptian stage. He also directed the first all-gay award-winning Egyptian film ''
All My Life'' (in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
طول عمري, transliteration Toul Oumry). He also published poetry in various Arabic language publications and ''Marionette'' is his first poetry collection, published by Garad Books in Cairo in 1998.
In 2005, he was also a founding member of the Egyptian Underground Film Society (EUFS) (in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
الجمعية المصرية للأفلام المهمّشة) as an outlet for promoting Egyptian independent film making and supporting freedom of expression away from legal restrictions, censorship and traditional imposed values.
Gay activism
As a gay activist Maher Sabry pioneered with others gay forums for Egyptian LGBT on the internet, using the pseudonym "Horus".
On May 10, 2001 when 52 gay men were arrested at the Queen Boat Discothèque incident known as
Cairo 52
The Cairo 52 were men arrested on May 11, 2001, aboard a floating gay nightclub called the Queen Boat, which was moored on the Nile in Cairo, Egypt.
Charges
Of fifty-two men arrested, fifty were charged with "habitual practice of debauchery" an ...
, Sabry launched a campaign focusing on anti-gay abuses in the case and asked for support from the international human rights group and gay organizations. He also mobilized legal aid and human rights organizations to provide representation in court for the victims.
In 2003, he appeared in a documentary by
John Scagliotti
John Scagliotti is an American film director and producer, and radio broadcaster. He has received honors for his work on documentaries about LGBT issues including ''Before Stonewall'' and ''After Stonewall''.
Biography
During the 1970s, Scagliott ...
entitled ''
Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World''.
The documentary focusses on the Cairo 52 case and features Maher Sabry interview, in addition to various insights from activists from Brazil, Honduras, Namibia, Uganda, Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Fiji and the Philippines.
Filmography
*2008: ''
All My Life''
Awards
*In 2002, he received the Felipa de Souza Award from the
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).
Sources
Omar Hassan on PinkNews site: Interview: Arabic filmmaker Maher SabryDavid Khalili in National Equality Resource Center: Exposing Oppression in Egypt
References
External links
*
IMDB ''All My Life'' page
IMDB ''Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World'' page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabry, Maher
1967 births
Egyptian film directors
Gay writers
LGBT film directors
LGBT theatre directors
Egyptian LGBT writers
Egyptian LGBT rights activists
Living people
Felipa de Souza Award