Tribute to Walid Chmait

Walid Chmait Saab, known as Walid Chmait, was one of the pioneers of film criticism in Lebanon. Born in 1941 in Alay, he discovered cinema and theater in Brazil, after joining his parents in São Paulo, where they had settled a few years earlier. Returning to Lebanon in the mid-1960s, he devoted his life to the 7th art, writing for newspapers such as Al Youm and Al Esboo El Arabee.

Alongside enthusiasts and colleagues like Ibrahim El Ariss, he founded the Arab Ciné-club in Beirut, which became a major cultural hub. In the 1970s, he hosted several shows on Télé Liban, including The Woman in Egyptian Cinema and The History of Lebanese Cinema. But his career was not limited to journalism: he acted in Arab films such as Mister the Progressive (1974) by Syrian director Nabil Al Maleh, alongside Nidal El Ashkar, and The Mannequin (1978) by Tunisian director Sadok Ben Aicha.

A versatile artist, he directed documentaries, co-wrote Palestine in Cinema with Guy Hennebelle (1979), and became a communications advisor to the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Chedli Klibi, in Tunis. In 1990, after settling in the Paris region with his wife and three children, he became the editor-in-chief and host of the morning show El Nashra El Moustamera on Radio Orient, which he led for nearly fifteen years.

In 2001, he published Youssef Chahine, A Life for Cinema. A lover of words, he taught Arabic at the European Business School in Paris (2012-2019). In late 2023, his son Salim decided to make a documentary about his career. Unfortunately, just a few months after filming began, Walid Chmait passed away in February 2024… joining the paradise of cinema! The 36th edition of the Carthage Film Festival pays tribute to a man who devoted his life to cinema.