Lion Tamer
Mohammed El Helw
Narrated by Barry Norman
'Every lion tamer is sentenced to death one day; but if I leave the lions I will die anyway, for these lions are my life.' This paradox sums up MOHAMMED EL HELw's attitude to one of the world's most dangerous jobs.
Mohammed Is the star of the Egyptian State Circus in Cairo, where the Helw family have been training lions for generations. Five years ago he watched helplessly as his father was mauled to death by a rogue animal. The next day, at the age of 24, Mohammed took over the family act.
Big cats can never be tamed, only trained. It's impossible to drug the animals or beat them into performing - everything rests on the trainer's courage, patience and lightning reactions. It's a life-long confidence trick, by which Mohammed persuades nine lethal lions that he is the natural leader of the pack and stronger than they are. He will stay alive just so long as that bluff remains uncalled.
Film cameraman VANOUSH VARTANIAN Film editor SIMON HAMMOND
Executive producer ANTHONY ISAACS Producer CLEM VALLANCE