Syrian musician Suheil Arafa was honored at the 12th Damascus Film Festival for his remarkable contribution in composing musical pieces for many films and TV series, according to the daily Syria Times.
Since the beginning of his career in 1958, Arafa has put many compositions for Syrian TV series. These include Abu Kamal and Damascene Days, which is a historical series by director Hani Al Romani, dealing with the modern history of Syria. However, he is most famous for the compositions he put for the national songs he composed in the 1960s and the 1970s, These include The Martyr by outstanding singer Sabah Fakhri, From Qasyoun Mount by Dalal Al Shemali and Good Morning My Homeland by Saad Yakan.
Early in his childhood, Arafeh learned playing on different musical instruments including the oud (lute) and the violin.
In appreciation of his great talents, Arafeh was awarded several valuable prizes at Arab and international music festivals.
His compositions were not only restricted to Syrian singers, but he composed songs for many Arab singers including Sabah and Dalal Shemali.
Arafeh’s talents were passed on to his daughter Amal, who is one of the prominent Syrian singers. She started singing national songs composed by her father.
Then she stared a successful acting career where she played significant roles in a number of Syrian TV series.
The most significant of her roles are in Five Stars Family and Khan Al Harir. In the first series, she plays a comic role, while in the second she is a poor girl who tries to earn living through singing at nightclubs. However, the most important of her roles was in Al Qishani Public Bathhouse where she plays the role of a revolutionary university student who struggles to gain her rights – Albawaba.com
