Fans at film festival ask where is Omar Sharif ?

A reliable source in the Dubai Media City said that Omar Sharif was unlikely attend the DIFF and the special event that has been organised to honour him, because he is busy shooting three films. “Mr Sharif has contacted us and he apologised for not showing up for his honouring. In an interview with a radio station, Mr Sharif expressed sadness that he could not come. He is shooting three movies and he is very busy these days. He was in India, Italy, and most probably he is going to Morocco to finish shooting some scenes. We are still trying to convince him to come to Dubai at least for one night, but it seems very difficult,” said the source.

The source added that the special event will take place as scheduled and the ‘Egyptian Legend’ will be honoured according to the programme, even if he did not show up. The DIFF will be showing four classics of Omar Sharif during the DIFF, including ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ ‘Doctor Zhivago’, ‘Funny Girl’, and ‘Monsieur Ibrahim’.

Omar Sharif was considered to be the first actor to be honoured at the Dubai International

Film Festival. He is still considered to be the Arab world’s major international superstar and an icon.

As Omar Sharif, the former Michel Shalhoub made his feature film debut in 1954 and went

on to appear in 24 Egyptian films. After such first choices as ‘Alain Delon’ and (allegedly)

‘Christian Marquand’ proved unsuitable, he was selected by director David Lean to take

over the key role of El Cherif Ali ibn Kharish in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. He became a matinee idol that could be taken seriously as an actor, able to portray Nazis (‘The Night of the Generals’), Russians (‘Doctor Zhivago’), Mexicans (‘McKenna’s Gold’) and even Americans (‘Funny Girl’).

He was also never averse to guest-starring just for the fun of it, and such films as ‘Top Secret!’, ‘The Pink Panther Strikes Again’ and ‘The Parole Officer’ only served to enhance his public image. Recognition of his achievements to date has been somewhat muted.