Dearer Than My Eyes

Zulficar was born in Cairo, Egypt. As a child, Zulficar was a prodigy. He received a scholarship and studied astronomy. He loved reading, which is what had helped him succeed. He graduated from the military faculty and later became a lieutenant. Although he was doing well in his military career, he decided to start directing. He was influenced by his brother, who was a screenwriter. He started as director Mohamed Abdel Jawad’s assistant, but in 1947, he directed his first movie, Aseer al-Zalam (أسير الظلام, “Prisoner of Darkness”). One of his most successful movies as a director was Rud Qalby (رُدّ قلبي, “Return My Heart”) which was featured for six weeks in Cairo’s cinemas.

In 1947, Zulficar started a production company with the legendary Egyptian actress, Faten Hamama, who was his wife then. He also acted in Khulud (خُلود, “Immortality”) along with Hamama. As a writer he was quite successful. He wrote scripts and stories for almost 30 movies. His last work was the direction and scriptwriting for the movie Maw’ed Fi al-Borj (موعد في البُرج, “Meeting at the Tower”, 1963). Zulficar died on July 1963.

Zulficar met Faten Hamama while filming the Abu Zayd al-Hilali movie in 1947, which he directed. The two fell in love and married each other. The couple had a daughter, Nadia Zulficar. Their marriage would only last for seven years, as the couple divorced in 1954. The two remained friends, and Hamama even acted in his movies after the divorce. —Wikipedia