New Egyptian film celebrates country's opening aerial salvo in Yom Kippur War
Documentary produced by Egyptian historians aims to 'reveal the truth' about the air assault launched by Egypt at the start of the 1973 war.
The film was produced by "Group 73 Historians", a group of Egyptians seeking to preserve the memory of the war among the Egyptian public - and also to shed light on the actual events of the conflict.
"A big surprise during celebrations for the anniversary of the October War," says the group's Facebook page. "The secrets of the air raids are revealed for the first time - from the mouths of the real heroes who planned and carried out the airstrikes at noon on October 6, 1973."
The historians have already released a tantalizing trailer for the 59-minute film, showing simulations of the pilots during the attack and of the situation room in which one of those present is most likely the Egyptian air force commander at the time, Hosni Mubarak.
The film itself took three months to produce, and includes contributions from 17 Air Force pilots acting as the brigade commanders of 1973. The participants include Farooq Alis, the commander of the Sukhoi planes brigade; Hassan Fahmi, commander of the MiG-17s; Majdi Sharawi, former commander of the Egyptian Air Force; Nasser Moussa, former deputy commander of the Egyptian Air Force and Majd al-Din Rifat, the former head of operations of the Egyptian Air Force.
The Egyptian media says the film aims to shed light on Mubarak's role during the war, and how he in effect commanded and managed the attack simultaneously. Following Mubarak's ouster as president in 2011, certain parties attempted to discredit his long-accepted role in the attack.
"The purpose of the film is to reveal the truth and publish the facts," Ahmed Zaid, the head of the group of historians, told Ynet. He said the film is meant to be broadcast on various Egyptian TV channels, including the state-run television.
"The reason we made the film is to stop the counterfeiting of history for political purposes," he said, but declined to name anyone he believed was behind it.
Zaid says they intend to distribute the film in multiple countries, but not necessarily Israel. The film had the blessing of the Egyptian Air Force, Zaid told the local media, and is likely to be part of this year's official events to mark the war.
