Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt

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Product Description ------------------- She had the musicality of Ella Fitzgerald, the public presence of Eleanor Roosevelt and the audience of Elvis Presley. Born a peasant at the turn of the last century, legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum earned a position of great wealth and influence. She was a powerful symbol, first of the aspirations of her country, and then of the entire Arab world. Four million people filled the streets of Cairo for her funeral in 1975, and to this day her songs outsell those of many contemporary Arab female vocalists. Narrated by Omar Sharif, Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt takes viewers into her home village and to the streets and cafes of Cairo where she lived and worked. Featuring concert footage, film clips and interviews with the famed singer's friends and colleagues, Goldman's documentary places the life and career of Umm Kulthum in the context of the epic story of 20th century Egypt. DVD Features: * Umm Kulthum Filmography * Inful New Director Commentary * Production Photo Gallery * 'ma' movie trailer * Audio: English, Arabic * Subtitles: English Review ------ Umm Kulthum grows more revealing as it proceeds, helped enormously by the rich legacy of films and s. --The New York Times The voice of Umm Kulthum lives on in Goldman's film. --The Boston Herald Fascinating and Intelligent. --Chicago Tribune P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); About the Actor --------------- UMM KULTHUM My her was uneasy. The idea that his daughter should sing in front of men he didn't know was difficult for him to accept, but my singing helped support the family. So he dressed me in boys' clothes, and I sang this way for several years. I realize now that he wanted to convince himself, and the audience too, that the singer was a young boy and not a young woman. About the Director ------------------ MICHAL GOLDMAN Started working in documentary editing rooms as an interesting way to support herself while she followed her real calling, modern dance, in New York City. Eventually things switched around, and she began to make her own films. She started doing film work during the civil rights era, which was also the era of cinema verite, and her own work has developed in response. She has lived and worked in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cairo and Boston again, where she founded the Filmmakers Collaborative and the Boston Jewish Film Festival. Goldman produces, directs, writes and edits her films, which include A Jumpin' Night in the Garden of Eden, the first film to document the klezmer revival; Umm Kulthum, a Voice like Egypt, about Umm Kulthum, the great diva of Arabic song; Epiphany in Progress, documenting the first year in a new, faith-based inner-city school; and At Home in Utopia, about three decades, two generations, and one apartment complex in the Bronx. See more ( javascript:void(0) )