Studio Misr

Studio Misr (Eng: “The Studio of Egypt"), also known as Studios Misr, is a major Egyptian film studio founded in 1935. Founded by the economist and industrialist Talaat Harb, Studio Misr was the giant cinema project of Banque Misr, the first national bank in Egypt. It is the oldest surviving film studio in Egypt and Africa, and is today owned by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. The studio is managed by the Cultural and Cinematic Asset Management Company, a subsidiary owned by the ministry.

Owned and staffed by Egyptians, Studio Misr transformed cinema into a real industry in Egypt and marked the beginning of the golden age of Egyptian cinema (Al-Hadari, in p.86). Studio Misr was also considered as the sole school of cinema in Egypt through the training of its technicians and artists, until 1959, date of creation of the Higher Institute of Cinema in Giza (Al-Kalioubi, in p.100). By producing talking narrative films and renting its facilities to other film producers, Studio Misr contributed to establishing Egypt’s important place in the Arab-speaking world. For three decades, it was the Egyptian equivalent to Hollywood's major studios,  and was even called “Hollywood of the Orient.”    Studio Misr was nationalized as a consequence of the nationalization of Banque Misr in February 1960 under the Nasser administration (Abou Chadi, in p.118).