Obstacles could impede Christ biopic's path into Egypt
Egyptian film director Ahmed Maher speaks to Al-Monitor on how he is moving ahead with his next film on Jesus Christ's infant years in Egypt.
CAIRO — Following years of preparation, Egyptian film director Ahmed Maher says that progress is being made on his multimillion dollar film about the early life of Jesus Christ and the cast will be announced within a month.
In an interview with Al-Monitor, the director said the film "Christ" — which has been in the pipeline for years and caused controversy among Egyptians — could be shot outside of Egypt should he face objections from Al-Azhar. The film has already received the Coptic Church's approval, with producer Mohamed Ashoub noting that the late Coptic Pope Shenouda III read and approved the script years ago.
The film, which Maher hopes he will be able to shoot in Egypt, was written by the late scriptwriter Fayez Ghali years before his death. Maher said the cast will include Egyptian actors and it is anticipated that the project will cost at least $50 million.
The text of the interview follows:
