After returning to Egypt, he turned his attention to directing. Cinematographer Alvise Orfanelli helped Chahine into the film business. Chahine directed his first feature film in 1950, Baba Amin (Daddy Amin) at the age of 23, two years before the revolution of 1952 that saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the rise of the charismatic leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. One year later, with "Nile Boy" (1951) he was first invited to the Cannes Film Festival. Sira' fi-l-Wadi ("Struggle in the Valley") introduced Omar Sharif to the cinematic screen. In 1970 he was awarded a Golden Tanit at the Carthage Film Festival for al-Ikhtiyar (The Choice). With "The Sparrow" (1973), in which he showed his political opinions after the Six-Day War with Israel, he directed the first Egypt–Algeria co-production.