The Egyptian composer Omar Khairat was warmly celebrated at an event held in the Cinema Palace, which was attended by tens of cultural personas, artists, and critics.
The tribute event hosted a talk with the iconic composer Khairat, presented by critic Tarek Elshinnawi. The talk was followed by a screening of Faten Hamama’s film Leilet El-Quabd Ala Fatma, directed by Henrey Barakat in 1984, which played a vital role in Khairat’s stardom.
Born in 1947, the multi-award-winning Khairat is one of the top musicians of the Arab world with hundreds of memorized compositions in his repertoire.
Throughout his long and successful career, he has written scores for numerous films and television series, including The Sixth Day (1984), The Terrorist (1993), Mafia (2002), Girl’s Love (2003), The Embassy in the Building (2005) and Deer’s Blood (2006), to name but a few, according to the “Ahram Online” website.
His concerts are usually fully-booked weeks ahead of time with his large fan base singing along and humming along to compositions like Heya Di El-Hayah, Fi Hawid El Leil, Arabian Rhapsody, Fiha Haga Helwa, Eadam Mayet, El-Khawaga Abdel-Kader, Giran El-Hana, Saber, Arfa, Qadeyet Am Ahmed, Khali Balak Men Aklak and other classic hits time-honored TV and film themes.
Last month, Omar Khairat was selected as the Cultural Personality of the Year by the organizers of the UAE’s 17th edition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA).
Operating under the authority of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, the Cinema Palace is headed by actor Tamer Abdel Moneim.
