Middle Eastern and North African cinema
The 1990s are marked by a new wave of Fundamentalism and Islamic Fundamentalism in the MENA region, as well as increased violent conflicts. These two main factors had some effect on the growth of national film industries. Egypt, previously known as one of the countries with the most vibrant and successful film industries, was now known for initiating a "witch-hunt" against artist, which of course includes actors/actresses, directors, and script writers. The peak of this era of "witch-hunts" in Egypt was in 1994 when Youssef Chahine, arguably the most important and successful Egyptian director, got sent to court for one of the movies he produced. That movie is called The Exiled (المهاجر) and Chahine was sent to court for it because it depicted the Prophet Joseph, which according to the religious rulings in Egypt and Islam was not allowed. Despite of the court ruling that the movie should be removed from movie theaters, it still remained one of the most popular and successful movies of Chahine. Despite the regime's response, in 1997 Chahine went on to create another very successful movie which challenged Islamic Fundamentalism, Destiny (المصير). However, not all countries had the same response to the rise in Islamic Fundamentalism. Tunisia is an example of such a country, which in 1994 saw the production of the film Beb El-Oued City, a film which demonstrated the consequences that Islamic and religious fundamentalism could have in the society. That movie made it to the Cannes Film Festival and won the International Critics' Prize by the F.I.P.R.E.S.C.I., as well as a lot of global recognition.