Jul 27, 2008 9:09 am US/Eastern
Egyptian Director Youssef Chahine Dead At 82
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) ―
Egypt's official news agency says film director Youssef Chahine has died in Cairo. He was 82.
The report says Chahine died Sunday at a military hospital in Cairo, about four weeks after he went into a coma following a brain hemorrhage.
He was flown to France in critical condition for treatment but later sent back to Al Maadi Military Hospital in Cairo.
Chahine studied acting in California in the 1940s and went on to become one of Egypt's most distinguished film directors. His work has been critical of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, as well as of Muslim fundamentalism and Egypt's authoritarian regime.
The Cannes Film Festival gave him its 50th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.
He is expected to be buried in Alexandria, his hometown.
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