PORTFOLIO

I come from a family of image makers. My grandfather Helmy Rafla was a pioneer filmmaker of Egyptian cinema’s golden era from the 1940’s till his death in 1977, producing and directing over 60 films. His son, my father, Mounir Helmy Rafla, followed in his footsteps making films that eventually earned him a nomination at Cannes in 1967. On the other hand, my maternal uncle Maurice Ammar left behind France’s nouvelle vague and established himself as an avant-garde experimental filmmaker in New York City in the 1970s, alongside XXX.