Regards

Remerciements

La Rédaction de « Regards » — 2025-05-06

L'équipe de Regards voudrait remercier les membres du comité de lecture qui ont contribué à ce numéro :
Marco Dalla Gassa, Johanne Villeneuve, Agnès Devictor, Kaveh Askari, Michèle Garneau, Hormuz Kéy, Ehsan Khoshbakht, Asal Bagheri, Setrag Manoukian, Robert Bonamy, Laura Marks, Ghada Sayegh, Joseph Korkmaz.

Le crime à l’écran dans le monde arabe : de la salle au streaming

Katia GHOSN — 2025-03-31

Consacré au Crime à l’écran dans le monde arabe, ce numéro de Regards prolonge la réflexion sur les représentations du crime dans les œuvres fictionnelles arabes, dont les jalons ont été posés avec l’ouvrage collectif Le récit criminel arabe/Arabic Crime Fiction (Harrassowitz 2020). Ce livre abordait les représentations du crime, principalement dans la littérature romanesque, en démontrant qu’un élargissement des définitions génériques strictes souvent appliquées aux domaines américain et européen permettait d’identifier un récit criminel spécifiquement arabe : le genre policier existe, donc, dans la littérature de cette partie du monde, et ce bien avant l’émergence remarquée d’un polar arabe produit et vendu comme tel, vers la fin des années 1990. Le présent volume poursuit cette démarche investigatrice en considérant les films et séries arabes dont l’intrigue se fonde sur des crimes ainsi que sur des personnages de criminels et/ou d’enquêteurs. Le terme « arabe » est ici entendu au sens large, en référence à tout film ou série en langue arabe.

The Tragic Outlaw Hero in Modern Egyptian Fiction: A Case Study on Naguib Mahfouz’s "The Thief and The Dogs"

Manar ELLETHY — 2025-03-31

This article examines the outlaw figure in modern Egyptian fiction through the lens of the conceptual framework of social banditry and classical tragedy. It offers a unique angle of analysis of one of Mahfouz’s most prolific works that emerges in times of growing political anxiety following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Reading the 1962 film adaptation of Naguib Mahfouz’s The Thief and the Dogs directed by Kamal El-Sheikh as a projection of the socio-political uncertainty of the post-revolution Nasser era, this paper considers the outlaw figure within the condition of social alienation. Using the conceptual borders set by Eric Hobsbawm and Graham Seal surrounding the ‘social bandit’, Mahfouz’s protagonist, Said Mahran, is an amalgam of both social banditry as well as tragic heroism. It is through this complex juxtaposition that Mahfouz and El-Sheikh achieve their political commentary by presenting a character that personifies a general feeling of alienation in the Egyptian socio-political context.

A Polyphonic Adaptation: Noir Sensibilities in Naguib Mahfouz and Salah Abu Seif’s Take on Émile Zola’s "Thérèse Raquin"

Fadi Awad ELSAID — 2025-03-31

In 1951, Salah Abu-Seif directed Lak Yūm yā Ẓālim (Your Day Is Coming), scripted by Naguib Mahfouz and adapting Émile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin (1867). In their third collaboration, Abu-Seif and Mahfouz go beyond merely adapting Zola’s novel; they also incorporate film noir techniques, creating what this article terms a polyphonic adaptation that navigates multiple sources. While their partnership is primarily credited with pioneering realism in Egyptian cinema, this article argues that the film’s crime thriller elements warrant a reassessment of this view. Although French novel adaptations were common in pre-1952 Egyptian cinema, their selection of Thérèse Raquin—a novel central to the post-WWII transcultural noir sensibility—suggests that film noir’s connection to Egyptian cinema is both earlier and more profound than generally assumed.

The 1953 Codes: Rayyā and Sakīna on Screen (1953-2005)

Elena CHITI — 2025-03-31

This paper examines on-screen representations of female criminals. It focuses on Rayyā and Sakīna, two sisters who were arrested in Egypt in 1920 and executed in 1921. Since 1953, the sisters have inspired movies and TV series that have entrenched their myth in popular culture. Rayyā and Sakīna are at the core of narratives that bear moral imperatives on societal issues, such as the place of women in society and the relation of the nation to its margins. I will argue that, until a recent off-screen resignification, Rayyā and Sakīna have not been deeply resignified in Egyptian movies. Instead, they have been represented as natural-born killers, in line with the first Rayyā wa-Sakīna movie of 1953. What I call “the 1953 codes” – the markers that make the two characters recognizable – persist in subsequent works up until 2005.

Le fait divers et sa contextualisation entre l’effacement et l’accentuation : « Rayyā et Sakīna et Landru »

Dahlia EL SEGUINY — 2025-03-31

Female serail killers are rarely featured in Arabic police archives. Hence the singularity of the Rayyã and Sakīna case. This article studies the classic Rayyã and Sakīna (1953, Salah Abou Seif), the first Egyptian film to tell the story of female serial killers. The film is compared to the historical narrative written by journalist and historian Salah Issa in The Henchmen of Rayyã and Sakīna. A Political and Social Account (1999). Both the Film and the book are compared to Landru (1963, Claude Chabrol), a film based on a screenplay by Françoise Sagan published in a book under the same title. The fil deals with the crimes of the infamously well-known French serial killer who was a contemporary of his Egyptian counterparts. Through a comparative study of both feature films and the books from which they are adapted, the article analyzes the absence/presence of the social and historical contexts of both crime stories in the two medias: the scriptural and the cinematic. First, we examine the presence and/or the erasure of those contexts, during the process of narrativization of both crime stories. Second, we study the serial killer as a social subject. A special attention is paid to the dynamics of speech and silence. Thus, the article sheds a light on the aesthetic and ideological choices made by the writers and filmmakers whose work is at the centre of this study.

Vaudeville Ideology and The Unconscious of Crime Comedy: A Postcolonial Arab Contribution

Walid EL KHACHAB — 2025-03-31

This article proposes two theses: 1) Arabic postcolonial crime comedy articulates a social Unconscious expressed in cinematic “lapsus”. This Unconscious bears an unspoken desire of putting and end to authoritarianism and the police state, materialized by the omnipresence and omniscience of police in crime comedy; 2) Arabic crime comedy is a vehicle for a propaganda discourse at the service of “the ideology of vaudeville”. This ideology is carried by a discourse where the film promises citizens access to vaudevillesque luxury, such as wealth, sophisticated women, and even guilty pleasures, as well as integration into the fabric of the new middle class established by the postcolonial state’s policies, in exchange of their loyalty to the regime and adherence to its discourse of national liberation. Two Egyptian films are analyzed to make this case: Nizai Mostafa’s You killed My Dad (1970); and Najdi Hafez’ The Funny Crime, also translatable as Crime Comedy (1963). You Killed My Dad “dreams” of the death of the Father, arguably an unconscious materialization of the symbolic death of the Dictator. Crime Comedy stages a situation where the main character can literally get away with murder, be rewarded by marriage to a wealthy, beautiful, upper middle class young woman, simply because as a TV producer, he is part of the postcolonial state propaganda machine.Postcolonial Arab cinema – Crime comedy – Arab modernity – Vaudeville ideology – Middle class

Crimes, villes et caméras dans le nouveau cinéma égyptien

Salma MOBARAK — 2025-03-31

Khairy Bishara's Boat No.70 (1982), a seminal film representative of new Egyptian cinema from the 1980s, is the subject of this study, which aims to examine the camera and its status in the crime city.

The film is part of a new cinema that uses a neorealist style and a narrative that is free from traditional patterns. In the background, the social changes brought about by the liberal economic policies that shook Egypt during the reign of Anwar El Sadat: Socio-political corruption, the growth of organized crime networks, and the alienation of individuals within systems that oppress them.

Barge 70's study will enable us to identify the various aspects of the crime city, a place for criminal intrigue, by exploring its distinctive locations. We will examine the role of the camera — that of the filmmaker and, in a mise en abyme, that of his hero — in capturing the unusual nature of the crime scene and in the process of unraveling the truth.

On the other hand, the criminal adventure in this story seems to function as an artifice that leads the hero to confront his existential concerns: from filmmaker, he is drawn to become a detective: to what extent is he able to accept this fate? His torments represent those of a younger generation, those of the 1980s, torn between commitment and disengagement. What is the function of the camera in the problematic relationship between the criminal plot and its ontological resonances?

« Le Caire confidentiel » : Un film qui déconstruit le système de corruption politique de Hosni Moubarak

Rima SAMMAN — 2025-03-31

This article offers a general film analysis of Cairo Confidential, a first feature-length fiction film related to the beginning of the Egyptian revolution in January 2011, shot in 2015 by Tarik Saleh, a Swedish director of Egyptian origin. Through this film analysis, we question the generic identity of Cairo Confidential through its main character and its plot, and the relationship that the film maintains in its narration, its mise-en-scène, its point of view and its visual style, with the rules, conventions and codes of film noir.

Crimes et tabous dans les nouvelles séries ramadanesques en Tunisie

Emna MRABET — 2025-03-31

This article focuses on the aesthetic analysis of two Tunisian Ramadan series: Nouba by Abdelhamid Bouchenak and El Foundou by Saoussen Jemni. It aims to shed light on how the film noir framework is used or subverted to serve as a mirror of Tunisian society. The directors thus seize upon the element of crime to reveal taboos and points of tension (social, cultural, and political) in Tunisian society, interrogating family structures (through family ties or otherwise) and revealing periods of social and political tension that Tunisia has experienced, particularly during the 1990s. This study ultimately highlights how the arrival of a younger generation of directors is contributing to the renewal—both aesthetically and in terms of the themes addressed—of Ramadan series in Tunisia.

À qui profite le crime : paranoïa et folie dans « Nesma » d’Homeïda Behi

Christa JONES — 2025-03-31

This article examines the concepts of madness, persecutory delusion, and paranoia in the psychological thriller Nesma (2003) by Franco-Tunisian director Homeïda Behi. Set in the northern suburbs of Tunis shortly after the Arab spring (also referred to as Jasmine Revolution of January 14, 2011), Nesma refers to the years of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali’s dictatorship. Drawing on the analyses of Michel Foucault and philosopher-psychoanalyst Sophie de Mijolla-Mellor, as well as on the film’s music and historical studies of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali’s regime, this article provides a close reading and a visual and musical analysis of the film through the lenses of madness, persecutory delusion, and paranoia. The film reveals that madness does not solely pertain to an individual but also characterizes relationships with others; paranoia appears to be institutionalized and exists within a system of relationships. The film contains a social and moral critique; both a psychoanalytic drama and a film noir, this partially autobiographical thriller (inspired by Behi’s own experiences) bears witness to the collective paranoia of a society in transition and denounces certain abuses, particularly the omerta that impedes the characters’ free speech, forcing them to communicate through insinuations and conceal their own corruption along with that of the authorities. Behi’s film offers a barely veiled critique of contemporary Tunisian society. The choice of using a film noir to portray the themes of madness and paranoia allows the director to bring forth a world deeply rooted in his memories and emotions.

The Crime in "Little Wars" and "Very Big Shot": A Microcosm of a Lost Generation

Nadine ASMAR — 2025-03-31

Since the 1970s, Lebanese cinema has developed alongside the country’s changing political and social landscape, with crime narratives reflecting these shifts. During the Civil War (1975-1990), filmmakers like Maroun Baghdadi used crime to highlight the chaos and moral complexity of the time, as seen in Little Wars (1982). Several years later, crime stories reappeared in Lebanese cinema, combining genre conventions with themes of social struggle. By the 2010s, films like Very Big Shot (2015) by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya redefined crime cinema through dark humor and social critique, reflecting Lebanon’s ongoing instability. This article examines the development of crime narratives in Lebanese cinema, using both films as a case study to analyze how crime functions both as a narrative device and as a reflection of historical and political changes. Through a comparative study of Little Wars and Very Big Shot, this paper explores the thematic and stylistic shifts that suggest the emergence of a distinct Lebanese crime cinema, blending genre elements with social commentary on Lebanon’s complex realities.

Who Killed the Law? An Analysis of the Syrian Drama Series "Aḥmar"

Lovisa BERG — 2025-03-31

The 2016 Syrian TV series Aḥmar, directed by Jūd Sa‘īd and written by Yāmin Ḥajalī and ‘Alī Wajīh, is an intelligently constructed detective drama infused with political and social critique. This article employs media studies and theories of detective drama to analyse the plot and narrative of the series. In the first episode, the well-known judge Khālid is brutally murdered, prompting three separate investigations into his death. The first is conducted by his childhood friend, who works in the police force; the second by a radio journalist; and the third by an old friend of the judge, who is a teacher. Although their paths frequently intersect, the three investigations reveal different versions of Khālid’s life and, concurrently, aspects of contemporary Syrian society. The TV series is presented as a detective drama and exhibits the traditional traits of the genre, including multiple suspects, hidden secrets, shifting facts, brutal villains, and diligent investigators. The diverse narrative strategies borrowed from the genre facilitate the uncovering of facts on multiple levels. The gradual progression towards the apprehension of the killer serves as a device to expose what is depicted as a lawless country, where money and connections are the primary means of advancement. Thus, the TV series can be viewed both as a detective drama and as a political commentary on segments of Syrian society in 2016.

Répéter une scène de crime : « Abou Leila » (2020) d’Amin Sidi Boumédiène

Boualem KHELIFATI — 2025-03-31

This article examines the way in which Amin Sidi Boumédiène's film Abou Leila (2020) crystallizes the Algerian tragedy of the 1990s through the story of a quest for revenge that “repeats a crime scene” by deploying it on the scale of the vast Algerian territory. The pursuit by two policemen (released of their uniforms) of a chimerical terrorist named Abou Leila seems to satisfy a desire for “national” revenge against crimes that remain unpunished to this day. The resulting murderous madness tells the alienation of an entire country caught up in a fratricidal war. Repeating the crime, Sidi Boumédiène's film dilates and concentrates space and time, blurring our generic reference points, confusing truth and falsehood, reality and fantasy, human and beast, and, summoning myth or fable, confronts the missing images of Algeria's black decade.

Enquêteurs (non) familiers : Qui mène les enquêtes dans les séries télévisées égyptiennes ?

Gianluca PAROLIN — 2025-03-31

The chapter analyses the ubiquitous presence of crime investigations in contemporary Egyptian television drama, away from genre definitions of crime drama. By focusing on who conducts these investigations, the chapter maps the typologies of investigators on the small screen. The ‘conventional’ investigators of global crime drama are an extremely rare occurrence on Egyptian television, and even when they exist in the original work they tend to be marginalised in the adaptation. A host of ordinary citizens, on the contrary, are extremely busy carrying out investigations on the Egyptian small screen. The chapter considers the struggles that these ‘non-conventional’ investigators encounter, and what expectations these representations may generate in viewers.

Interview with Maryam Naʿūm

Gianluca PAROLIN — 2025-03-31

This interview with Egyptian screenwriter Maryam Naʿūm offers insight into her creative approach to scripting crime within Arab television drama. Known for her socially engaged narratives, Naʿūm discusses the narrative role of crime, evolving audience expectations, and the cultural and institutional constraints shaping representations of justice across the Arab region. She reflects on regional variations in crime storytelling, the rise of platform-driven content, and the challenges of adapting international formats. Drawing on her own body of work and her mentorship of emerging writers, Naʿūm articulates a vision of crime drama that prioritizes emotional depth and character complexity over formulaic resolution.

Maryam Naʿūm is an acclaimed Egyptian screenwriter known for her socially conscious storytelling and compelling female characters. A graduate of the Cairo Higher Institute of Cinema, she gained recognition with Wāḥid-ṣifr (2009) and solidified her reputation through collaborations with director Kāmla Abū Ḏikrī on works like Bin ismahā Ḏāt (2013) and Siǧn al-nisā (2014). Naʿūm’s scripts often tackle issues like gender inequality, class struggles, and personal freedom. Her nuanced writing and focus on marginalised voices have made her a key figure in contemporary Arab cinema, contributing to a new wave of realist and feminist storytelling in the region. Naʿūm is also the founder of Sard, a screenwriting workshop that mentors emerging talents.

À propos de « Cilama » (Hady Zaccak, 2024)

Joseph KOKMAZ — 2025-03-31

Cilama (2024) est un documentaire du réalisateur libanais spécialiste du genre Hady Zaccak. Le titre est une déformation de « cinéma » par le dialecte populaire de Tripoli, la deuxième grande ville et chef-lieu du nord du Liban. Des années trente et jusqu’à la guerre civile en 1975, Tripoli comptait une trentaine de salles qui attiraient une foule de spectateurs avides de divertissement, d’évasion, de rencontres et de découvertes. Aujourd’hui ces salles ont fermé leurs portes et contrairement à celles du centre-ville de Beyrouth qui ont été rasées dans le cadre de la reconstruction et de la modernisation, elles sont encore là gagnées par la rouille, la poussière, les toiles d’araignées et le délabrement. Le cinéma s’est tu dans la ville et le film adopte à son tour une esthétique appropriée à ce silence.

Hady Zaccak est un cinéaste libanais et enseignant-chercheur à l’IESAV, Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth où il est également le coordinateur du département de cinéma. Il est l’auteur de plus de 20 documentaires primés dans plusieurs festivals arabes et internationaux dont : Cilama (2024) (Prix de la meilleure réalisation, Arab Creativity Festival, le Caire) Ya Omri (104 rides) (2017) (Prix du Jury, Malmo Arab Film Festival, Suède, 2017), Kamal Joumblatt, Témoin et Martyr (2015) (Trophée de la Francophonie pour le Meilleur Documentaire 2016), Marcedes (2011) (Prix International de la Critique FIPRESCI, Dubai International Film Festival, 2011), Une Leçon d’Histoire (2009) (1er prix, Arab Film Festival, Rotterdam 2010), La Guerre de la Paix (2007), Réfugiés pour la vie (2006). Zaccak est l’auteur de deux livres sur le cinéma : La Dernière Projection, une biographie de Cilama Tripoli (2021) et Le Cinéma Libanais, itinéraire d’un cinéma vers l’inconnu (1929-1996) (1997). Il est également le propriétaire de la boîte de production ZAC Films