Chahine was born into a Christian Egyptian family, a Greek mother and a father of Lebanese descent in Alexandria, Egypt,[2][3] on January 25, 1926.[1] Chahine began his education at a frères' school and continued his studies at the Victoria College. After one year at Alexandria University, he moved to the United States to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Starting as a director
After returning to Egypt, he turned his attention to directing. Cinematographer Alvise Orfanelli helped Chahine into the film business. His film debut was Baba Amin (1950): one year later, with Nile Boy (1951) he was first invited to the Cannes Film Festival. In 1970 he was awarded a Golden Tanit at the Carthage Film Festival. 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. He won a Silver Bear in Berlin for Alexandria...Why? (1978), the first installment 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 (2004), 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.

Chahine also acted in a few of his films.

Theatre
In 1992 Jacques Lassalle approached him to stage a piece of his choice for Comédie-Française: Chahine chose to adapt Albert Camus' Caligula, which proved hugely successful. The same year he started writing The Emigrant (1994), a story inspired by the Biblical character of Joseph, son of Jacob. This had long been a dream-project and he finally got to shoot it in 1994. This film created a controversy in Egypt between the enlightened wing and the fundamentalists who opposed the depiction of religious characters in films. In 1997, 46 years and 5 invitations later, his work was acknowledged at the Cannes Film Festival with a lifetime achievement award on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the festival. He is also credited with discovering Omar Sharif, whose first starring role was in Chahine's film The Blazing Sun (1954). He also provided Hend Rustum with a very early role as a murder victim in Bab al-Hadid (Cairo Station).

Awards
Chahine was awarded the 50th annual lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997.


Controversies
The Sparrow attacks Egyptian corruption and blamed it for the defeat in the Six Day War.
Cairo Station, albeit a classic of Egyptian cinema, also shocked viewers both by the sympathy with which a "fallen woman" is depicted and by the violence with which she's killed.

Illness and death
Chahine was hospitalized at Ach-Chourouq hospital in Cairo in a coma following an apparent cerebral haemorrhage, on Sunday, June 15, 2008.[1]

On Monday, June 16, 2008, Chahine was flown to Paris on an emergency flight and admitted to the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris, where his niece told AFP his condition was "critical but stable."

Youssef Chahine died in his Cairo home on Sunday July 27, 2008.[4]


Filmography
Baba Amin (Papa Amin) - 1950 بابا أمين
Ibn al-Nil (Nile Boy) - 1951 ابن النيل
El Mohareg el Kebyr (The Great Clown) - 1952 المهرج الكبير
Saydat al Ketaar (Lady on the Train) - 1953 سيدة القطار
Nisaa bila Regal (Women without Men) - نساء بلا رجال 1953
Sira` Fi al-Wadi (Struggle in the Valley) also known as (The Blazing Sun) - 1954 صراع فى الوادى
Shaitan al Sahraa (The Desert Devil) - 1954 شيطان الصحراء
Sira` fi el-Minaa (Dark Waters, Struggle in the Port) - 1956 صراع فى الميناء
Wadda'tu Hobbaka (Farewell to Your Love) - 1957 ودعت حبك
Enta Habiby (You're My Love) also known as (My One and Only Love) - 1957 إنت حبيبى
Bab al-Hadid (Cairo Station or Cairo Main Station)- 1958 باب الحديد
Djamila Bouhired also know as (Jamila, the Algerian) - 1958 جميلة بوحريد
Hobb lel Abad (Love, Forever) also known as (Forever Yours) - 1959 حب إلى الأبد
Bein Edeik (In Your Hands) - 1960 بين أيديك
Nidaa al Oushaak (A Lover's Call) - 1960 نداء العشاق
Rajul fe Haiaty (A Man in My Life) - 1961 رجل في حياتي
Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din (The Victorious Saladin) - 1963 الناصر صلاح الدين
Fagr Youm Gedeed (Dawn of a New Day) - 1964 فجر يوم جديد
'Biyaa El Khawatem'" (The Ring Salesman) also known as (Auliban, the Seller of Jokes), starring Lebanese legend Fairuz, produced in 1965 (based on the musical of 1964) بياع الخواتم
Rimal min Thahab (Golden Sands) - 1966 رمال من ذهب
Eid al Mairun (The Feast of Mairun) -short film- عيد الميرون 1967
Al Nas wal Nil (Those People of the Nile) - 1968 الناس والنيل
Al-Ard (The Land)- 1969 الأرض
Al-Ekhtyiar (The Choice) - الإختيار 1970
Salwa al Fatah al Saghira allaty Tokalem el Abkar (Salwa the Little Girl who Talks to Cows) also known as (Salwa) -short film- 1972 سلوى الفتاة الصغيرة التى تكلم الأبقار
El Asfur (The Sparrow) - 1973 العصفور
Intilak (Forward We Go) -documentary- 1973 انطلاق
Awdet el Ebn el Dal (Return of The Prodigal Son) - 1976 عودة الإبن الضال
Iskandariyah... lih? (Alexandria... Why?) - 1978 إسكندرية... ليه؟
Hadduta Misriyah (An Egyptian Tale) - 1982 حدوتة مصرية
Wadaan Bonabart (Adieu Bonaparte) - 1985 وداعا بونابرت
Al-Yawm al-Sadis (The Sixth Day) - 1986 اليوم السادس
Iskandariyah Kaman wa Kaman (Alexandria Again and Again)- 1989 إسكندرية كمان وكمان
El Kahera Menawara be Ahlaha (Cairo as Told by Chahin) -documentary TV- 1991 القاهرة منورة بأهلها
Al-Mohagir (The Emigrant) - 1994 المهاجر
Al-Massir (The Destiny) - 1997 المصير
Kolaha Khatwa (It's Only a Step) -short film- 1998 كلها خطوة
Al-Akhar (The Other) - 1999 الآخر
Sokoot Hansawwar (Silence, We're Rolling) - 2001 سكوت ح نصور
September, 11th also known as (11‘09“01 Eleven Minutes, Nine Seconds, One Image) - 2002 11, سبتمبر
Iskandariyah-New York (Alexandria-New York) - 2004 إسكندرية-نيويورك
Heya Fawda (This Is Chaos) - 2007 هي فوضى (premiere at the Venice Film Festival)