Maher Sabry
Encyclopedia
Maher Sabry is an Egypt
ian theater director, playwright, film director, producer and screenwriter, poet, writer and cartoonist artist. A gay
activist, he was the first director to portray gay and lesbian love in lyrical and sympathetic manner on Egyptian stage. He also directed the first all-gay award-winning Egyptian film All My Life (in Arabic
طول عمري , tranliteration Toul Oumry). He also published poetry in various Arabic language publications and Marionette is his first poetry collection, published by Garad Books in Cairo in 1998.
In 2005, he was also a founding member of the Egyptian Underground Film Society (EUFS) (in Arabic
الجمعية المصرية للأفلام المهمّشة) as an outlet for promoting Egyptian independent film making and supporting freedom of expression away from legal restrictions, censorship and traditional imposed values.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian theater director, playwright, film director, producer and screenwriter, poet, writer and cartoonist artist. A gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
activist, he was the first director to portray gay and lesbian love in lyrical and sympathetic manner on Egyptian stage. He also directed the first all-gay award-winning Egyptian film All My Life (in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
طول عمري , tranliteration Toul Oumry). He also published poetry in various Arabic language publications and Marionette is his first poetry collection, published by Garad Books in Cairo in 1998.
In 2005, he was also a founding member of the Egyptian Underground Film Society (EUFS) (in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
الجمعية المصرية للأفلام المهمّشة) as an outlet for promoting Egyptian independent film making and supporting freedom of expression away from legal restrictions, censorship and traditional imposed values.
Gay activism
- As a gay activist Maher Sabry pioneered with others gay forums for Egyptian LGBT on the internet, using the pseudonym "Horus"
- On May 10, 2001 when 52 gay men were arrested at the Queen Boat Discotheque incident known as Cairo 52Cairo 52The term Cairo 52 refers to the fifty-two men who were arrested on May 11, 2001, aboard a floating gay nightclub called the Queen Boat, which was moored on the Nile in Cairo, Egypt.-Charges:...
, Sabry launched a campaign focusing on anti-gay abuses in the case and asked for support from the international human rights group and gay organizations. He also mobilized legal aid and human rights organizations to provide representation in court for the victims. - In 2003, he appeared in a documentary by John ScagliottiJohn ScagliottiJohn Scagliotti is an American film director and producer, and radio broadcaster. He has won awards for his work on documentaries about LGBT issues including Before Stonewall and After Stonewall.-Biography:...
entitled Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing WorldDangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing WorldDangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World is a 2003 documentary film directed by American filmmaker John Scagliotti about the issues experienced by gay, lesbian and transgender people in developing countries. It was the first documentary film to explore these issues in non-Western...
. The documentary focusses on the Cairo 52 case and features Maher Sabry interview, in addition to various insights from activists from Brazil, Honduras, Namibia, Uganda, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Fiji and the Philippines.
Awards
- In 2002, he received the Felipa Award from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights CommissionInternational Gay and Lesbian Human Rights CommissionThe International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission is a US-based international non-governmental organization that addresses human rights violations against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, intersexuals, transgender people and people with HIV/AIDS...
(IGLHRC).