Villa El Gazayerli
A tribute to Ferdinand Debbaneh’s architectural gem in Bolkly, a home that has embraced four generations of the Gazayerli family.
Commissioned by Ashraf El Gazayerli and Mounir El Gazayerli | Shot by Ahmed Nabil and Ahmed Khalaf | Research by May Eltabbakh and Colette Frege | Written, edited and directed by Ahmed Nabil.
March 2014 - Al-Horeia Center for Creativity, Alexandria.
March 2014 - German Film Week in Goethe Institute, Cairo.
April 2014 - 10th Rencontres de l'image Film Festival in the French Institute, Cairo.
September 2014 - 30th Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival, Alexandria.
February 2015 - Shorts Series Revisited Take #2 in Zawya, Cairo.
September 2015 - Egyptian TV - Channel Two.
June 2016 - Festival Gollut - Amics del Cinema de la Vall de Ribes, Barcelona.
September 2016 - Jesuit Film Festival, Eneba, Alexandria and Cairo.
October 2016 - "Alexandrie Ici" by Ici-Même, Grenoble.
January 2017 - Sudan Independent Film Festival, Khartoum.
November 2017 - Alexandria Heritage Days, Alexandria.
August 2020 - Online screening for one month through Basita.
Egypt - Documentary - 2018 - 13 minutes
Selected previous screenings
Background
Commissioned by the family to commemorate their remarkable house in Bolkly, Alexandria, this documentary has been produced to record also some of the cross-generational memories that took place between the house walls. The villa building was commissioned in 1951 by Professor Doctor Mounir El Gazayerli beik (second from right), one of the founders of the faculty of medicine in the "University of Farouk the First", which was later named "The University of Alexandria". Also founder of the Pathology department where there is a grand theater in his name.
Commissioned by the family to honor their remarkable home in Bolkly, Alexandria, this documentary also serves to preserve the cross-generational memories that unfolded within its walls. The villa was originally commissioned in 1951 by Professor Dr. Mounir El Gazayerli Bey (second from right), a pioneering figure and one of the founding members of the Faculty of Medicine at Farouk I University—later renamed the University of Alexandria. He also founded the Department of Pathology, where a grand lecture hall now bears his name.
Note
One of the most enjoyable filmmaking experiences for me. I was intrigued by how the shop looked from outside. And I just could not resist getting inside and asking the kind owner to host me with my camera for a few days of shooting. Back then I was quite under the influence of the French filmmaker, Nicolas Philibert, and his idea about the fact that you can make a film "anywhere and about anyone" because there is a "story" to be told everywhere.
A few months after I have completed "17 Fouad Street", I had three or four books on my desk. I was to pick one as my next reading. I could not really decide which one to start with, so I decided to start reading a bit of each book and then see which one I will fall in love with. One of the books was a fiction by Harry Tzalas, "Seven Days at the Cecil". To my astonishment, the first chapter of the book ended by an encounter between the narrator and the owner of “Chaussures Edouard" in the shop. So the choice of the book was simply made.
Statue of Nubar Pasha, the first Prime Minister of Egypt, by Denys-Pierre Puech.
© The Collection of The National WWII Museum.
