Karim El-Shenawy was chosen to direct the second part of the movie “Sahar Al-Layali” after more than 20 years

It was announced on Friday that Karim El-Shenawy had been chosen to direct the second part of the famous Egyptian film “Sahar al-Layali” from a screenplay by Tamer Habib, the original author of the film, more than 20 years after the first part was shown.

Al-Shennawi considered, in a statement, that “dealing with a work the size of Stay Up Nights is an exceptional responsibility,” and added: “The original film, written by Tamer Habib and directed by Hani Khalifa in 2003, was not just a public success at its time; rather, it established a rare space in Egyptian cinema, a space in which people talk about their relationships honestly and without embellishment, and in a language close to their daily lives.”

He explained: "We are not re-presenting the first part, nor are we continuing its stories. We are asking the same question to a new generation who loves, marries, disagrees, and separates in a completely different way. The form of relationships has changed, the tools of communication have changed, what is said and what is hidden has changed, but the human confusion at its core is the same," adding that the ambition for producing the second part is to preserve "that space that the original film opened, and to fill it with stories and questions related to the moment we are living now."

Al Arabiya Cinema is producing the second part of the movie “Sahar Al Layali”, in partnership with “Cairo Films”.

The CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Arabiya Cinema Company, Isaad Younis, said: “Sahar al-Layali has a very special place for me, not only because it was one of the important experiences in the company’s journey, but because I lived its journey since it was an idea on paper and became a film that the audience connected with and remained present in their memory all these years.”

She added: "When we decided to return to this world after more than twenty years, my most important concern was that it be a return that has a reason and value, and that we present a new film that we love and believe in, and not rely solely on the success and people's nostalgia for the first film."

Younes expressed her "great" happiness with El-Shenawy joining in to direct the film, as well as the return of screenwriter Tamer Habib to "a world he created himself 23 years ago." She stressed that the first part of the movie "Sahar Al-Layali" "became the property of its audience for many years, and we are well aware that this love places a great responsibility on us."

She added, "I don't want to ask the audience to love the second part because they loved the first; I hope we make a movie that makes them love it because it's worth it."

It is noteworthy that the first part of the movie “Sahar Al-Layali” included, in its list of heroes, stars that may be difficult to gather in one movie during this stage, as the movie was starring: Hanan Turk, Mona Zaki, Sherif Mounir, Ahmed Helmy, Fathi Abdel Wahab, Khaled Abu Al-Naga, Ola Ghanem, and Jihan Fadel.