Leading Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah warned Thursday that his country's cinema industry was being threatened in the wake of last year's uprising, and also said he did not want his latest film to be shown in Israel dpa reproted
"We want the cinema to continue to exist in Egypt," the 60-year-old director said at the Cannes Film Festival, where his latest film Baad el Mawkekaa (After the Battle) is being shown. "But it is "being attacked as a sin by the Islamists."
"I don't want the film to be sold in Israel not when they are occupying the Palestinian areas," he added.
"I am all for peace with Israel," he said. "But I don't think when the Egyptians and the Arabs are taking their first steps away from military rule ... that Israel is an answer."
However, Nasrallah added that he did not have control over the sale of the film, which is set against the backdrop of last year's revolution in Egypt which toppled the regime led by president Hosny Mubarak.
Nasrallah's movie, which is about ordinary Egyptians trying to come to terms with the upheaval, is one of 22 films competing for Cannes coveted Palme d'Or.