She had the musicality of Ella Fitzgerald, the public presence of Eleanor Roosevelt, and the audience of Elvis Presley. Her name was Umm Kulthum, and she became a powerful symbol, first of the aspirations of her country, Egypt, and then of the entire Arab world.

Born a peasant at the turn of the century, she became a woman of great wealth and power, confidant of presidents and kings, and above all, President Gamal Abd al-Nasser's unofficial ambassador in the region. Four million people were on the streets of Cairo for her funeral in 1975. To this day, her cassettes outsell every other Arabic female vocalist.

Narrated by Omar Sharif, Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt is the first documentary to bring Umm Kulthum to an American audience. The film puts her life in the context of the epic story of 20th century Egypt as it shook off colonialism and confronted modernity. The camera explores her astonishing connection with her audience, taking us into her village in the Nile Delta, and into the cafes, markets, and streets of Cairo where she lived and worked. From the Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz to a 12-year-old girl in an outdoor restaurant, people speak about the role Umm Kulthum's music has played in their lives, and sing their favorite songs for the camera.

Producer/Director Michal Goldman lived in Cairo for more than two years, researching and filming with an Egyptian crew. Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt has been funded principally by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and The Ford Foundation. The film is based on the book "The Voice of Egypt": Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century, by Virginia Danielson.

"When she sang, she was never the heroine. People heard their own story in her songs."