The Knight and the Princess

The Knight and the Princess is a 2019 Egyptian animated musical action-drama notable for being the first-ever Egyptian animation feature film.[1] It was directed by Bashir el-Deek, produced by Alabbas Hamidaddin, and created by cartoonist Mustafa Hussein. The film stars Haitham Elkhamissi, Mohamed Henedi, Donia Samir Ghanem, Medhat Saleh, Maged El Kedwany, Lekaa Elkhamissi, Abla Kamel, Abdel Rahman Abou Zahra and Saeed Saleh.[2][3][4]

The film premiered at the 2019 El Gouna Film Festival, and released to theatres on 30 January 2020.[5] It was selected to show at the 2020 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, making it the first Arab feature film to show at the festival.[6]

Plot

The film takes inspiration from the seventh-century tale of Muhammad bin Qasim, a 15-year-old Arab commander from Basra in the Umayyad era. In the film, he’s a young, idealistic adventurer who plans to rescue the wives and children of deceased sea merchants that have been taken prisoner by pirates and King Daher the Great of Sindh. Before accomplishing his mission, Mohammed falls in love with Princess Lola Benny of Qossah after saving her life, only to have to leave her to go defeat the Daher and his army.

Recognition

The Knight and the Princess was lauded for its representation of Arabs and countering stereotypes often found in Western-produced entertainment.[1] The film was selected to show at the 2020 Annecy International Animation Film Festival; won the Grand Prix at the 2021 ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival, and was nominated in for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2021 Asia Pacific Screen Awards but lost out to The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks.

References
  1. "Review: Egypt's First Animated Feature "The Knight and the Princess" Champions Arab Storytelling". Cinema Escapist. 2020-06-27. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  2. "The Knight and the Princess". Malmo Arab Film Festival. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  3. Essam, Angy (8 March 2020). "LAFF to screen 'The Knight & The Princess' on Mar.8". Egypt Today. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. Tewfik, Nourhan (2 October 2019). "'The Knight and the Princess': Saudi-Egyptian animated film champions Arab voices, stories". Arab News. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. "The First Feature-Length Arabic Animated Film, Master Class on "The Aesthetics of Sound in Cinema" and a Panel Discussion on "The Role and Impact of Film Festivals" On the Fifth Day of El Gouna Film Festival". El Gouna Film Festival. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  6. Essam, Angy (1 June 2020). "'The Knight and The Princess': the first feature-length animation film to represent Egyptian cinema internationally". Egypt Today. Retrieved 11 July 2020.


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