Vedat Örfi Bengü

Vedat Örfi Bengü, also spelt as Wedad Orfi, and Wadad Orfi, (October 14, 1900 – May 25, 1953) was a Turkish-Egyptian silent film producer and actor.[1]

Career

Controversy depicting Prophet Muhammad

In 1926, Örfi approached Youssef Wahbi to play the role of Prophet Muhammad in a film, which would be financed by the Turkish government and a German producer.[2] Whilst the President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and the Istanbul Council of Ulamas gave their approval to the film, the Islamic Al-Azhar University in Cairo published a juridical decision stipulating that Islam forbids the representation of the prophet and his companions.[2] Thereafter, King Fouad warned Whabi that he would be exiled and stripped of his Egyptian citizenship if he took part in the film.[2] Consequently, the film was later abandoned.[1]

Leila/Layla – the first Egyptian feature film

By 1927 Örfi produced and starred in the film "Neda Allah" ("The Call of Allah") which was a collaborative project with Aziza Amir.[3] The film was later remade and released as "Layla" ("Leila") with some of Orfi’s original shots left in the film.[3] The latter production is often considered to be the first Egyptian feature film.

Filmography

In Egypt
  • 1927: Leila / Layla
  • 1928: The Victim / al-Dahiyyah
  • 1929: The Beauty from the Desert / Ghaddat al-sahra
  • 1929: The Drama of Life / Ma Sat al-Hayat

In Turkey

Personal life

In the 1930s Örfi moved to Turkey.[1]

References
  1. Armes, Roy (2008), "Orfi, Wedad", Dictionary of African Filmmakers, Indiana University Press, p. 105, ISBN 0253351162, Egyptian silent filmmaker of Turkish origin.
  2. Shohat, Ella (2009), "Sacred Word, Profane Image: Theologies of Adaptation", in Bayrakdar, Deniz (ed.), Cinema and Politics: Turkish Cinema and The New Europe, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 17, ISBN 1443804150
  3. Mejri, Ouissal (2017), "The Birth of North African Cinema", in Bisschoff, Lizelle (ed.), Africa's Lost Classics: New Histories of African Cinema, Routledge, pp. 29–30, ISBN 1351577395
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