The Lost Art of the ‘Afish’: The Evolution of Egyptian Film Posters

Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover? The common saying simply goes against human nature and flirts with pretention. The visual cover of an artistic work - whether it’s a film, song, album or book - inevitably invites judgment.

In cinema, the poster - or as it’s known in Egyptian cinema, the ‘afish’ - is a cornerstone of cinema’s cultural heritage. The term, borrowed from the French “affiche,” made its way into Egyptian colloquial Arabic like many other French words. The afish represents a significant pillar of Egyptian cinematic tradition. Who doesn’t have the image of a particular film poster permanently etched in their memory? Mine is the afish for Mohamed Khan’s 1990 film ‘Supermarket’. It features a playful, cartoon-style illustration of the film’s lead actress, Naglaa Fathy, pushing a shopping cart with the other characters from the movie inside it - perfectly encapsulating the film’s core critique of consumerism.

The art of the afish in Egyptian cinema has traversed a long and storied journey, marked by challenges, developments, periods of prosperity, and eventual decline as technology and visual-making tools evolved. Yet, the Egyptian afish remains a vital aspect of the country’s cinematic heritage. From the 1930s to the late 1990s, Egyptian cinema produced iconic poster designs, crafted by renowned visual artists and illustrators, that continue to resonate within the collective memory of Egyptian film lovers.

The poster of any film plays a crucial role in shaping the viewer’s relationship with the work, presenting everything from the names of the stars and filmmakers to the depiction of characters and their hierarchy of importance. On a deeper level, the poster conveys the film’s tone, spirit, and narrative essence, even hinting at its story. The poster also has a pivotal commercial function: attracting the audience and sparking their curiosity. In a 1986 interview with Al Kawakeb magazine, Murtada Mohamed Afish, one of the most pioneering figures in the art of poster-making in Egyptian cinema, explained, “A successful poster is one that catches the eye so effectively that after seeing it, the viewer is compelled to watch the film. If the poster fails to leave this impression, then it has failed.”

Murtada, along with other influential figures, have left a lasting impact on the development of afish art in Egypt. From the 1930s to the late 1990s, several artists gained fame and were celebrated within the industry for their work. Chief among them is the visual artist Hassan Gasour, who founded the first specialised poster-making company, Arab Cinema Printing Press. The company produced posters for many iconic films, such as ‘El Kit Kat’, ‘Wekalet El Balah’, and 'A Crime in the Depths'. Gasour also designed the covers for Naguib Mahfouz’s celebrated Cairo Trilogy: ‘Palace Walk’, ‘Palace of Desire’ and ‘Sugar Street.’

The list of influential figures in the history of film poster design is extensive, and the story of this unique art form could fill entire books - indeed, many already have. But we’re not here to recount that history. Instead, we pose a pressing question: what happened to this art form?

For over two decades, Egyptian cinema has grappled with this question. The art of poster-making has declined dramatically. Paradoxically, despite the technological advancements in visual arts that should have propelled this craft to new heights, these innovations seem to have pushed poster design onto a downward trajectory.

Film critic and author of ‘The Art of Afish in Egyptian Cinema’, Sameh Fathy, believes this decline began in the late 1990s. “In the early days, up until the early 1990s, there was genuine art - true creativity in the craft of the afish,” Fathy tells CairoScene. “The people behind it knew exactly how to make you want to watch the film, creating posters of the highest caliber. They were true visual artists who could convey the essence of a film through the afish. From the 1940s to the 1990s, film posters were crafted by exceptionally talented artists.”

With the overall decline in commercial cinema, the art of the afish has followed suit. Filmmaking studios now rely almost entirely on star power to draw audiences, sidelining the artistic integrity that once defined this craft. “Today, we don’t really have afish anymore,” explains Fathy. “Sure, there’s technological advancement, but it’s no longer an art form. Now, it’s just about showing you who the actors in the film are, so they simply arrange a few pictures of people next to each other. There’s no art or creativity whatsoever. The last afish made with real artistic effort was perhaps for the film ‘El Kit Kat’. Today, there’s nothing like that.”

While we’re still judging books by their covers, the covers of modern-day cinema have increasingly little to offer. Film posters, once a medium of artistic expression and an integral part of the film, have been reduced to uninspired, cookie-cutter designs that fail to capture the imagination of viewers. Instead of intriguing audiences or offering a glimpse into the film, these posters rely on poorly executed graphic design, often haphazardly piecing together headshots of actors with no sense of artistry or narrative. What was once a vital tool for building anticipation and conveying the essence of a film has become just another perfunctory marketing tool.