Vedat Örfi Bengü

Vedat Örfi Bengü, also spelt as Wedad Orfi, and Wadad Orfi, (October 14, 1900 – May 25, 1953) was a Turkish-Egyptian silent film producer and actor.[1]

Career

Controversy depicting Muhammad

In 1926, Örfi approached Youssef Wahbi to play the role of Muhammad in a film, which would be financed by the Turkish government and a German producer.[2] Whilst the President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and the Istanbul Council of Ulamas gave their approval to the film, the Islamic Al-Azhar University in Cairo published a juridical decision stipulating that Islam forbids the representation of Muhammad and his companions.[2] Thereafter, King Fouad warned Whabi that he would be exiled and stripped of his Egyptian citizenship if he took part in the film.[2] Consequently, the film was later abandoned.[1]

Leila/Layla – the first Egyptian feature film

By 1927 Örfi produced and starred in the film "Neda Allah" ("The Call of Allah") which was a collaborative project with Aziza Amir.[3] The film was later remade and released as "Layla" ("Leila") with some of Orfi’s original shots left in the film.[3] The latter production is often considered to be the first Egyptian feature film.

In Egypt
  • 1927: Leila / Layla
  • 1928: The Victim / al-Dahiyyah
  • 1929: The Beauty from the Desert / Ghaddat al-sahra
  • 1929: The Drama of Life / Ma Sat al-Hayat

Personal life

In the 1930s Örfi moved to Turkey.[1]

References
  1. Armes, Roy (2008), "Orfi, Wedad", Dictionary of African Filmmakers, Indiana University Press, p. 105, ISBN 978-0253351166, Egyptian silent filmmaker of Turkish origin.
  2. Shohat, Ella (2009), "Sacred Word, Profane Image: Theologies of Adaptation", in Bayrakdar, Deniz (ed.), Cinema and Politics: Turkish Cinema and The New Europe, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 17, ISBN 978-1443804158
  3. Mejri, Ouissal (2017), "The Birth of North African Cinema", in Bisschoff, Lizelle (ed.), Africa's Lost Classics: New Histories of African Cinema, Routledge, pp. 29–30, ISBN 978-1351577397
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