Khoury has produced and co-produced around 30 feature films and documentaries that won awards in regional and international festivals.
Egyptian filmmaker Marianne Khoury is being honoured with the Legion of Honor, France’s highest prize, during a ceremony held in Cairo.
The French Ambassador to Egypt Marc Baréty awarded the coveted medal to Khoury.
Khoury, who is the niece of late great Egyptian director Youssef Chahine, is a managing partner of Cairo-based Misr International Films, which Chahine founded. She has directed several documentaries, most recently Let’s Talk, which premiered at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam in 2019. The documentary delivered a no-holds-barred narrative of four generations of her family riddled with traumas and disappointments.
Khoury, who holds economic degrees from Cairo and Oxford Universities, has helmed some 30 Arab films and documentaries, many of which are centred around themes of identity, memory, marginalisation and womanhood.
Acting as a conduit between artists and the cinema industry, Khoury has been instrumental in introducing the first edition of the Panorama of the European Film in Cairo in 2004 and inspired the first art-house cinema in Egypt, Zawya.
Under her MK production label, Khoury in 2011 launched, The Dahshur Workshops, dedicated to mentoring and developing films by emerging Egyptian and Arab talent. She has served as a jury member in major festivals, including Venice’s Orizzonti section, and a consultant to prominent cultural institutions.
The Legion of Honour is one of the most famous decorations in the world. Founded by Napoleon Bonaparte, it is presented on behalf of the French head of state to honour the most deserving people in a number of fields. It is awarded to both French and non-French citizens – provided they have served France or its ideals.
