Egypt, Saudi Arabia compete over title of regional art pioneer
Egypt’s United Media Services, a production company linked to Egyptian intelligence, decided to contract with veteran Egyptian actor Mohamed Sobhi after his recent clash with Turki al-Sheikh, chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority.
A war of words has recently flared up between the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Entertainment, Turki al-Sheikh, and Egyptian veteran actor and producer Mohamed Sobhi. And it seems the Egyptian government is siding with its own citizen.
On Jan. 29, Sobhi attacked the Joy Awards festival organized in Saudi Arabia by Sheikh. In a phone interview with Egypt’s Al-Hadath satellite TV channel, Sobhi revealed that he had turned down a $4 million offer to perform his play “Kheebetna” ("Our Failure") at the Saudi festival.
“I don’t accept, as an artist, to present a work of art under the title of ‘entertainment,’” he argued. He said that he is not an entertainer and that he prefers to perform the art he wants in his own country, even if it was in the middle of the desert.
The Joy Awards festival, which is part of Riyadh Season, hosted by the General Authority for Entertainment, is one of the largest ceremonies to recognize and honor artistic achievements of the Arab world. The second edition of the annual Joy Awards was held Jan. 28 with participation of several international and regional celebrities.
