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

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian

silent film A silent film is a film without 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, w ...

producer and actor.

Career

Controversy depicting Muhammad

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

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

in a film, which would be financed by the Turkish government and a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

producer. Whilst the President of Turkey,

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

, and the Istanbul Council of

Ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

s gave their approval to the film, the Islamic

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

published a juridical decision stipulating that

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

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

exile Exile or banishment 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 ...

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 (; 17 December 1901 – 28 February 1952) was an Egyptian actress, producer, and screenwriter. She has legendary status in Cinema of Egypt, Egyptian film. She was the first wife of Mahmoud Zulfikar. Early life Aziza Amir was born Mofi ...

. The film was later remade and released as ''" Laila''" ("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: '' Laila'' *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, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

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