He won the Silver Bear – Special Jury Priz at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival for "Alexandria... Why?" (1978), the first instalment in what would prove to be an autobiographic quartet, completed with "An Egyptian Story" (1982), "Alexandria, Again and Again" (1990), and "Alexandria...New York" (2004). The producer Humbert Balsan went to Cannes in 2004 with "Alexandria... New York", his ninth film with the Egyptian director since 1985's "Adieu, Bonaparte". In one of his films "The Sixth Day" اليوم السادس, an adaptation of a novel written in French by Lebanese writer André Chedid, the famous Egyptian singer Dalida was the protagonist in the role of a poor Egyptian woman.