Screening: The Night of Counting the Years (Al Mummia) 1969

Two figures standing between stone pillars, one in the background wearing black, the one in the foreground wearing white

Film Screening: The Night of Counting the Years
(Al Mummia)
, 1969

Friday, February 7, 6:30 pm
Michelson Theater, 721 Broadway, Room 648

Set in 1881, on the eve of British colonial rule, this stately, poetic film directed by Shadi Abdel Salam tells the true story of an Egyptian clan that has been robbing tombs for three thousand years. When Antiquities Service officials find mummies on sale in Cairo’s open market, mayhem ensues.

Egypt, 103 min., color, in Arabic with English subtitles. Critically acclaimed as one of the best Egyptian films ever made. Introduced by Farbod Honarpisheh, Postdoctoral Associate, Film & Media Studies, Yale University.

Restored in 2009 by Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, and the Egyptian Film Center. Restoration funded by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways, Qatar Museum Authority and the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.

Offered in conjunction with Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s-1980s, on view at the Grey Art Gallery, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, NYC, January 14–April 4, 2020.

For information on the exhibition, please visit greyartgallery.nyu.edu

Co-sponsored by NYU’s Department of Cinema Studies, Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, and Grey Art Gallery.

Free of charge, no reservations, capacity limited, and subject to change. Photo ID required for entrance to NYU buildings.