The Samir Farid Collection consists of over 3,300 photo negatives taken on the sets of egyptian films between 1937 and 1987. The original contexts of the photographs are unknown, but given the composition and subject matter, it can be inferred that the photographs were intended for publicity for the films, actors appearing in the films, and perhaps subjects for cinema posters.

The images include both 'black and white' and 'color' images shot on a variety of film formats. Film brands identified include Kodak Gravure Copy, Kodak Safety, Kodak Panchro Press, Kodak Super XX, Agfa Safety, Ansco Safety Isopan, Ansco Commercial Orthochromatic, Gevaert Safety, Gevaert Panochromatic, Ferrania, and Orwo.

The photographs were shot on the sets in the midst of filming, or between scenes, therefore some of the images are documentary and others posed. It would appear that few if any are candid images. Most photographs are of actors appearing in the films, most notably Omar Sharif, Shadia, Ismail Yasin, Kamal El Shennawy, Mahmoud El Meleigy, Serag Mounir, Samia Gamal, Taheyya Kariokka, Wedad Hamdy, Hussein Riad, Hagar Hamdy, Farid Shawqi, Amina Rizk, Abdelsalam El Nabolsi, and Ahmed Allam.

Some images can be identified as having been taken during filming scenes in the final cut of the film, as precise context can be identified when comparing the photographs to the films themselves. In other cases, the photographs were taken during filming shots that were not used in the final version of the film or were posed in a tableau vivant.

A complete list of all film titles included in the collection, along with directors and release year (in Arabic and English), can be viewed at akkasah.org: https://akkasah.org/wp-content/uploads/SF-Film-List.pdf