Vedat Örfi Bengü, also spelt as Wedad Orfi, and Wadad Orfi, (October 14, 1900 – May 25, 1953) was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

producer and actor.

Career

Controversy depicting Muhammad

In 1926, Örfi approached Youssef Wahbi to play the role of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

in a film, which would be financed by the

government and a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

producer. Whilst the President of Turkey,

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

, and the Istanbul Council of

Ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

s gave their approval to the film, the Islamic

Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

published a juridical decision stipulating that

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

forbids the representation of Muhammad and his companions. Thereafter, King Fouad warned Whabi that he would be

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d and stripped of his Egyptian citizenship if he took part in the film. Consequently, the film was later abandoned.

Leila/Layla – the first Egyptian feature film

By 1927 Örfi produced and starred in the film "''Neda Allah''" ("The Call of Allah") which was a collaborative project with

Aziza Amir Aziza Amir ( ar, عزيزة أمير; 17 December 1901 – 28 February 1952) was an Egyptian actress, producer, and screenwriter. She has legendary status in Egyptian film. She was the first wife of Mahmoud Zulfikar. Early life and career Aziza A ...

. The film was later remade and released as ''"Layla''" ("Leila") with some of Orfi’s original shots left in the film. The latter production is often considered to be the first Egyptian feature film.

Filmography

In Egypt

*1927: ''Leila'' / ''Layla'' *1928: ''The Victim'' / ''al-Dahiyyah'' *1929: ''The Beauty from the Desert'' / '' Ghaddat al-sahra'' *1929: ''The Drama of Life'' / ''Ma Sat al-Hayat''

In Turkey

Personal life

In the 1930s Örfi moved to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

References

External links

* 1900 births Film people from Istanbul Silent film producers Turkish expatriates in Egypt Egyptian film producers Turkish film producers 1953 deaths {{Egypt-actor-stub