Egypt: Renowned screenwriter Wahid Hamed passes away at 76
Wrote dozens of films and TV serials that tackled controversial themes
Cairo: Veteran Egyptian screenwriter Wahid Hamed, best known for taboo breakers, died today in Cairo, his son film director Marwan said. He was 76.
A funeral prayer will be performed at noon for Hamed before his burial, his son added.
Last week, Hamed who had suffered from heart and lung problems, was admitted to a hospital in Cairo.
He was last seen in public last month when he received a lifetime achievement at the Cairo International Film Festival.
He has made a big name as screenwriter since the 1970s, producing the screenplays of dozens of dramas that largely explored often-shunned themes.
One of his most famous films was the 1995 political drama “The Nocturnal Birds” that criticised the political party of then president Hosni Mubarak and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Political comedy
His other credentials include the political comedy “Terrorism and Kebab” starring Egypt’s top comedian Adel Emam; “The Innocent” tackling police abuses ; the TV anti-radicalism series “The Family”; and “Time of Roses” a TV drama on Muslim-Christian relations.
Hamid’s last work was the second part of “The Group” a TV drama shown in 2017 exposing the violent history of the now-banned Brotherhood.
Egyptian Culture Minister Inas Abdul Dayem mourned Hamed’s departure. “He succeeded in creating immortal works that expressed society’s dreams and ambitions of a generation,” she added in a statement.