Issad Younes is part of the Film Chamber Council… The lack of transparency raises controversy

The file of film revenues in Egypt is still the focus of ongoing debate between film makers and the public, as it is the most prevalent indicator for measuring the success of works at the box office, in light of the absence of an official body responsible for collecting and documenting these numbers for years, which makes the numbers announced by producers the subject of constant doubt. The controversy is exacerbated by the weakness of the supervisory role of the Chamber of Film Industry, which has been unable throughout the past period to provide accurate and transparent data, leaving the stage for conflicting numbers between production companies during cinematic seasons.

With the election of a new Board of Directors for the Chamber for the period 2025-2029, which includes prominent names, most notably Isaad Younis and producer Mohamed Rashidi, questions arise about the Chamber’s ability to restore its historical role as a reliable official reference for revenue declaration as it was previously.

Critic Khairiya El-Bashlawi said in an interview with “Erm News” that the scene is unclear, and that the presence of productive names within the board of directors does not necessarily mean enhancing transparency. She indicated that although she was optimistic about the presence of Isaad Younis, she did not rely much on the chamber returning to its role with precision and integrity, stressing the absence of any body that has yet provided transparent and reliable numbers.

In turn, critic Ahmed Saad El-Din believes that the problem is not in the names, but in the methodology of collecting numbers. He explained that the Chamber relies in its data on what producers and distributors provide, which makes this data lose its accuracy, stressing that the only correct numbers are those issued by the Ministry of Finance. He added that most of the figures circulating about revenues are inaccurate, and he does not expect radical changes within the chamber at the current stage, considering what happened only a “change in names” until proven otherwise through the chamber adopting a system that ensures transparency parallel to what the financial reports show.