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Egyptian cinema industry declares war on streaming services

The crisis has intensified between the makers of "Saheb Al Maqam," an Egyptian film first made available on digital platforms, and the Chamber of Cinema Industry, which has blocked it from being screened in movie theaters.
This picture taken on August 26, 2020 shows a view of the historic Metro cinema theatre along the commercial Talaat Harb street in the city centre of Egypt's capital Cairo. - Egyptian cinemas are slowly reopening after months of lockdown, but the huge sector sometimes dubbed the Hollywood of the Arab world has taken a severe hit during the pandemic. After most studios, sets and movie theatres were shuttered because of COVID-19 from at least March to June, filmmakers and the wider sector are bracing for an u

CAIRO — The Egyptian Cinema Industry Chamber is at war with digital broadcasting platforms.

In a Dec. 21 statement, Hisham Abdel Khaleq, a producer and vice president of the group, said that the chamber will not allow movie theaters show films after they are available on streaming services such as Netflix and Shahid.net, warning that allowing theaters to become a "second-tier medium" would lead to the destruction of the film industry in Egypt.

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