Alvise Orfannelli in shoot

Orfanelli, crouching behind the camera on the set of Ana Bint Nas (I Come from a Good Home, 1951). In the photo, we see the star of the film, Faten Hamama lying on the ground after apparently fainting in this scene. Sitting across from the set are director Hassan al-Imam and producer Mary Queeny.

Alvise Orfanelli (1902?–1961) was born in Alexandria and started his career as an apprentice at the Aziz and Dorés studio, operating the phonograph and discs which provided simultaneous commentary on silent films. Orfanelli later joined Dorés at the Italian-Egyptian Cinematograph Company (SITCIA) where he worked as assistant to the director of photography, Stelio Chiarini. When the company was dissolved in 1919, Orfanelli took the equipment and laboratories in return for his overdue wages and founded Studio Alvise. Learning from the mistakes of the defunct SITCIA, Orfanelli hired Egyptians to play roles in films the public could relate to and went on to produce numerous popular films. He also mentored many of the iconic names of the following generations, including Youssef Chahine who started his career as one of Orfanelli’s assistants. Orfanelli continued to work on Chahine’s films, including the famous Bab al-Hadid (Cairo Station, 1958), until his death in 1961.

For more, see Samy Helmy's article 'Startup City' from Rawi magazine's Issue 9 available online (link in details).