Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema

Deborah A. Starr's study of the pioneering Jewish-Egyptian film-maker Togo Mizrahi has arrived at a good time. . . . wherever this goes in the future, Togo Mizrahi's Levantine dreams look very appealing from where we are now. * Times Literary Supplement * The cinema of Togo Mizrahi is a vital contribution not only to Arab cinema but to the understanding of a region whose heterogeneity is methodically ignored. * New Arab * Offers a complex and subtle analysis of a neglected and important figure-and suggests new ways of thinking about Muslim-Jewish interactions. * Markaz Review * Starr's book recuperates this cinematic history through its welcome account of the pluralistic, hugely entertaining, and popular cinema of Mizrahi and, by extension, by making a case for why Mizrahi and other Alexandrians--Jewish, Greek, Italian, or otherwise--of his era were every bit as Egyptian as their citizen compatriots. . . . Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema will undoubtedly be a valuable resource for film scholars and students of early cinema in Egypt and for its contribution to thinking of cinema outside national histories. * Critical Inquiry * Starr wonderfully recaptures a pre-1948 Egypt in which Jews enjoyed a level of coexistence with their Arab neighbors. * Sephardic Horizons * In her detailed examination of Mizrahi's oeuvre, Starr contributes to our understanding of the Egyptian movie industry and the role of Jews in its development. Of special emphasis is the treatment of indigenous people holding foreign citizenship in this process. The study is also of importance to women and gender studies, examining queerness and the role of both Jewish and Muslim women in the entertainment industry. * Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews *