AI is bringing back Egypt's silver screen icons into the 21st century — and not everyone is ready

Soad Hosny, Egypt’s 'Cinderella of the Silver Screen', sends a text message to heartthrob Omar Sharif. “I miss you, Omar,” she writes, as Sharif picks up a sleek smartphone and looks up, his captivating eyes gazing forward in teary nostalgia.

Cut to a shallow focus medium shot of Hosni, texting vigorously; her typical animated spirit shines through as she smiles at her phone, imploring Sharif to revive the good old days, then texts three red heart emojis.

But there’s a catch: Hosni’s been dead for almost 25 years, long before smartphones existed, and Sharif since 2015.

Even if you missed the clear AI tag on last Ramadan’s YouTube video, you would notice the faces are too perfect, that the backgrounds are immaculately staged and that the pearly whites of all 21 deceased actors featured in this AI-generated four-minute music video were simply too flawless to be real.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the Egyptian film and television industry, sparking both excitement and unease in a country long regarded as the 'Hollywood of the East'.

For more than a century, Egypt has been the beating heart of Arab cinema, shaping regional storytelling and immortalising icons like Sharif and Hosni. Now, AI is opening new doors for creativity, cost‑saving productions, and enhanced storytelling, but at the risk of blurring the lines between innovation and ethical compromise. 

The debate comes amid a recent announcement by Egypt’s culture minister about a national plan to revive the country’s film industry.

The controversy escalated dramatically with the series Esh Esh, starring Mai Omar and Intissar, which aired in March 2025.

The show sparked wide debate after actress Intissar revealed that the dance scenes featuring Omar were physically performed by a body double, amid speculation about AI techniques being used to composite Omar’s face onto the dancer’s body.

Local media considered that director Mohamed Sami might be the first to integrate artificial intelligence with human performance in Egyptian dramatic editing, raising immediate questions about authenticity and audience deception.

This incident highlights a broader tension as Egypt grapples with the role of AI in its cinematic renaissance. Director Amir Ramses warns against over-reliance on this technology, drawing parallels to the “digital cinema” revolution that both saved and potentially compromised the industry. 

“Digital cinema opened the door to producing new types of films, but at the same time contributed to establishing a culture of 'shortcuts' that harmed artistic standards,” Ramses tells The New Arab. 

Yet he acknowledges AI’s potential for reducing production costs, improving backgrounds, and accomplishing visual effects with precision across all cinematic genres.

Colossal costs

The practical benefits are undeniable, as Ramses illustrates with the introduction of drones. He explains how drones revolutionised aerial filming when it previously required expensive helicopter rentals, making such shots prohibitively costly to produce.

“Today, drones have become a basic element in most productions, which is what I expect artificial intelligence to do if properly utilised,” he says, emphasising that maximising benefit requires high skill in managing the technology.

For Egypt’s ambitious revival plans, AI represents a strategic cornerstone. The Ministry of Culture has announced a comprehensive national plan to recover the industry, establishing a specialised unit for restoring and digitising heritage films with unprecedented precision and speed.

The plan encompasses updating studios and historical cinemas, reactivating state-owned cinematic assets, and developing major facilities, such as Cinema City and Al-Nahas and Al-Ahram studios, with cutting-edge post-production technologies.

The economic implications are staggering. 

Sameh Fathy, a member of Egypt’s Cinema Industry Chamber, explains that the traditional restoration of a single film costs between EGP 100,000-120,000 (GBP 1,500-1,800) and takes about a month, with over 30 specialists working on it.

His company, Konuz, has restored more than 40 heritage films at a cost ranging between GBP59,000 and GBP71,000. With the state retaining approximately 250 films and artists’ heirs owning a similar number, the scale of potential savings becomes clear.

Ezz El-Din Ghoneim, Managing Director of the Cinema Holding Company, affiliated with Egypt’s Media Production City, sees AI as transformative for preserving Egyptian cinematic heritage. 

“This technology provides advanced capabilities for automatically removing scratches and impurities, improving image quality and raising resolution to superior levels, restoring original colours, and purifying sound,” he explains. 

The time reduction is dramatic — from months to just days. 

Ghoneim tells The New Arab that the restoration unit within the holding company will use AI-supported programmes to produce high-quality digital copies while preserving artistic identity through specialist supervision.

Warming up to AI 

Independent filmmakers are already experiencing the democratising effects of AI. Short film director Youssef Suleiman recounts how the technology helped him organise production stages, write scripts, record voice, execute dubbing and editing, and design film posters “in half an hour instead of months,” saving significant costs while opening wider work opportunities. 

Documentary director Ahmed Fouad El-Din similarly praises AI for shortening research time and organising materials, though he emphasises that “human creativity remains the foundation — technology can develop an innovative idea but cannot innovate from scratch.”

However, industry transformation brings uncomfortable realities. Director Moataz Hossam believes that “the ability to deal with artificial intelligence will become a decisive factor in maintaining any professional’s position in the cinema industry.”

He points to threatened specialisations like film colouring and predicts dramatic workforce reductions, where “tasks that were performed by six people could later be accomplished by just one person relying on these technologies.”

But some critics remain deeply sceptical about AI’s creative limitations. 

Magda Khairallah argues to The New Arab that “film is a creative work based on thought and imagination, and will not succeed if it relies entirely on artificial intelligence, which may lead to idea repetition and poor artistic standards.”

She sees technology as potentially effective for visual effects, “but it is not suitable for creating a complete scene or innovating a unique plot without human intervention.”

Creativity versus suspicion

Art critic Magda Morris raises concerns about transparency and artistic integrity, noting that judging AI’s impact depends on whether creators acknowledge its use or viewers discover it themselves. 

Morris suspects that some screenwriters avoid acknowledging AI use for fear of being questioned about their creative abilities, as mechanical writing often reveals itself through weak plot logic and character incoherence.

As Egypt stands at this technological crossroads, the balance between opportunity and authenticity remains crucial for the future of Arab cinema. 

While AI promises cost savings, enhanced restoration capabilities, and democratised production tools, questions about consent, the protection of artistic heritage, and cultural legacy persist.

The industry oscillates between embracing the temptations of modern technology and preserving its authentic identity — a tension that will likely define not just Egypt’s cinematic revival, but the broader evolution of filmmaking in the digital age.

As Morris warns, AI’s infiltration into core creative processes, particularly drama and dialogue writing, “may threaten artistic value and create crises within the text, as plot, characters, and dialogue require a human sense that algorithms cannot fully replicate.” 

Shimaa Elyoussef is a freelance Egyptian journalist

This piece is published in collaboration with Egab