Don’t watch these Arabic Movies!!

This season, silver screen-lovers can likely spot strong resemblances between several Egyptian films and well-known Western productions from Hollywood and Europe with eyebrow-raising plot similarities.

Movies released in Egypt over the past three decade could have left cinema-goers doing a double take due to their likeness to Western-made films.

Since the 1990s, Egypt’s cinema has gone in separate directions. Smaller art films attract some international attention but sparse attendance at home. Popular films, often broad comedies such as What A Lie!, and the extremely profitable works of comedian Mohamed Saad, battle to hold audiences either drawn to Western films or, increasingly, wary of the perceived immorality of film.