Five Phases of Loving Cinema

INT. LIVING ROOM – DAY

Sunlight pours through the window. A boxy TV hums softly in the corner. Curtains sway in the breeze. The smell of lunch drifts in from the kitchen.

Two kids — MICHAEL and his SISTER — sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes fixed on Channel 2.

Outside, the street buzzes with life. Voices echo. Car horns blare. The METRO rumbles past every few minutes.

MICHAEL (V.O.)

I’ve loved cinema for as long as I can remember, but not always in the same way. What began as a simple ritual slowly became something deeper, richer, and more personal. This is the story of how my relationship with cinema evolved, and why it now feels like part of who I am.

My journey with cinema started like most people, when I was a kid watching movies at home with my family. I remember during summer break, Channel 2 on Egyptian TV used to play a movie every day at 1 p.m., and this time was sacred for me and my sister. We watched a lot of Egyptian classics including movies by Ismail Yassin (إسماعيل ياسين), Fouad El Mohandes (فؤاد المهندس), and later Adel Emam (عادل إمام). On weekends, when we had sleepovers with our cousins at my grandmother’s house, we used to go to our favorite video stores, which don’t exist anymore, and rent a group of VHS tapes, enough for a weekend marathon. We continued to watch a lot of Egyptian classics in addition to getting introduced to Hollywood, of course, through some eighties action movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Those weekends, those rituals, those tapes; they shaped how I saw the world before I even knew I was watching it through a lens. What shaped yours?

I remember one milestone clearly: the first time I actually went to a movie theatre. This was back in late 1998 or early 1999, and my dad wanted to take us out to watch a movie at the movie theater. He let me choose which movie to watch. At the time, two major movies were playing in theatres: Saeidi Fil Gameaa Al Amerikeya (صعيدي في الجامعة الأمريكية) starring Mohamed Henedy (محمد هنيدي) and El Wad Mahrous Betaa El Wazir (الواد محروس بتاع الوزير) starring Adel Emam. Having loved Adel Emam throughout my childhood, I picked Adel Emam’s movie over Mohamed Henedy’s, a decision I regret to this day for a couple of reasons. First, for missing the opportunity to watch Saeidi Fil Gameaa Al Amerikeya in theatre, a movie that started a new wave in Egyptian cinema and kicked off the career of a whole new generation of actors and filmmakers. Second, for the experience of watching El Wad Mahrous Betaa El Wazir in theatre. If you watched this movie, you would know it is one of the weakest in Adel Emam’s filmography and definitely not one of his best works. To make matters worse, older kids in the theatre were waving laser pointers and treating every sexual scene like a punchline; cheering, laughing, and turning the moment into a spectacle.

So there I was: a 10-year-old kid, sitting between my parents, getting traumatized watching Adel Emam being Adel Emam.

Needless to say, I wasn’t allowed to go back to a movie theatre for a couple of years after.

Later on, when this embargo was lifted, I started going back to the theatre whenever I could to watch new movies, and to this day, going to the movie theatre is one of my favorite things to do, in addition to watching movies at home.

Those early experiences planted the seeds, but over time my love for cinema grew and evolved through different phases. I will try to explain this using the figure below.

Phase One: Cinema for Entertainment

The first phase, which is the most common one in my opinion, is watching movies for entertainment. I want a good and gripping plot, some jokes, action, or heartbreaking moments, and some plot twists are always welcome to spice things up. All of us still watch movies to be entertained, and I believe we can’t strip away the entertainment layer from most movies. Some people will always watch movies just to be entertained, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. That said, I wanted to take my cinematic journey a bit further, so I started exploring other phases. Have you ever felt the same?

Phase Two: Cinema as an Art

In this phase, I started to appreciate cinema as an art, not just for the entertainment value it brings. I started noticing how beautiful some frames are, how brilliant the acting can be, how camera movement speaks, how music deepens a scene, how a single cut between shots can shift everything, and how all these elements combine to make you feel something. It is like looking at a beautiful painting or listening to a wonderful piece of music. Cinema is also an art in which filmmakers use their cinematic tools and techniques to communicate. The message or emotion a film conveys can vary widely from person to person. That’s part of cinema’s elusive magic. Two people can watch the same scene and walk away with entirely different feelings or interpretations. But the common thing is, once you want more from films besides entertainment, you definitely open the door for yourself to experience a variety of emotions, ideas, and thoughts from the art captured on film.

Phase Three: Cinema as an Industry

In this phase, I started to develop an interest in learning more about cinema and the people who work in this industry. What does a director actually do? What’s the producer’s role? What is editing, and why is it so crucial? And who are all those other names in the credits, what do they really contribute? All these questions and more started to bug me, and I wanted answers. This phase came with an urge not just to be entertained (phase one) or emotionally and intellectually engaged (phase two), but to take a deep dive into how the industry works, and who the people are that collaborate to bring a film to life. This phase requires a lot of external knowledge because films themselves don’t provide you with this information (unless you are watching a film or documentary about the industry). So I started educating myself, and believe it or not, this knowledge added a whole new layer of appreciation and understanding of the process of filmmaking, and definitely helped me start to see films through a different lens.

Phase Four: Cinema for Meditation

This phase required me to take a step further in my cinematic journey and start using films for meditation. How many times have you watched a film and found yourself reflecting deeply on your own life, your emotions, your relationships, or your beliefs? Films can be a mirror, a guide, or even a companion in moments of solitude. In this phase, I began to seek out films that offered me peace, introspection, and a sense of connection with something greater than myself.

Have you ever watched a film that made you sit quietly afterward, just thinking? That’s the kind of experience I began to seek.

Phase Five: Cinema is Life

In this phase, cinema is no longer outside of me, it is part of me. It lives in my routines, my thoughts, my emotions. Films are not just entertainment, art, or industry anymore; they are woven into the fabric of my life. I still watch films to be entertained, and I still love how they stir emotions and spark ideas that stay with me long after the credits roll. I continue to learn about the industry and the craft behind filmmaking, and I often turn to films for meditation and reflection. But more than anything, I want to live cinema; to let it shape my routines, my thoughts, and the way I see the world. That’s why I used an inverted pyramid to show the phases. It’s not about rising above anyone else, but about going deeper within yourself, to find the reasons you love, care about, and connect with films.

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That’s the reason I wanted to take my cinematic journey a bit further, and instead of being on the receiving end, I want to start creating something to share with all who love cinema. That’s what led me to create this space, writing to you, and I couldn’t be happier that you are here experiencing and sharing this journey with me.

Through this space, I’ll be sharing personal reflections, curated lists, and deeper explorations of cinema’s emotional and artistic impact. Whether you’re here for comfort films, industry insights, or just to talk about what moved you, I hope this space feels like home.

If you’ve ever felt that a film changed you, comforted you, or helped you see the world differently, then you’re already somewhere on this journey too. I’d love to hear what cinema means to you.