(GIN) - Youssef Chahine, renowned Egyptian filmmaker, writer and director, who defended the rights of the oppressed, has lapsed into a coma following a brain hemorrhage, according to local sources.
 
The 82 year old Egyptian cineaste flew out of Cairo Monday to a French hospital accompanied by his niece and producer Marianne Khoury.
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During a long career and over 40 films, he never shied away from controversy, turning a critical lens on US foreign policy, Egypt and the Arab world. &Three films from the late 1990s (The Emigrant, Destiny and The Other) focused on tolerance and the distinction between Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism.
 
He received a lifetime achievement award from the Cannes film festival, among countless citations.
 
President Hosni Mubarak declared that the Egyptian state would pay for the filmmaker's treatment in "consideration of his involvement in the construction of Egyptian cinema."