31 May - 6 June 2001
Issue No.536
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 31 May - 6 June 2001 Issue No.536 |
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sAlong with my lovely colleague Reham El-Adawi, I recently attended an interesting exhibition on the 1948 War held at Al-Geel (Generation) Centre in Ein Al-Sira. The exhibition, ending today, was organised by senior editor of Ayyam Misriya (Egyptian Days) magazine Ahmed Kamali and the director of the centre Ahmed Abdalla, and displayed a collection of rare newspapers such as Al-Misri, Al-Muqattam, Al-Assas and Al-Balagh that commemorated the Palestinian ordeal. The exhibition was conceived to inform new generations about the circumstances surrounding the outbreak of the 1948 War. Several important English and Arabic books dealing with the Palestinian question were also on display, as was Ayyam Misriya's special issue featuring an article written by Abbas Mahmoud El-Aqqad about the condition of the Palestinians in 1948. The opening of this significant event was attended by Palestinian political analyst Abdel-Qader Yassin, professor of chemistry Ashraf El-Bayoumi, and actor Mohamed Sobhi among others.
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The Cervantes Institute (Spanish Cultural Centre in Cairo) endeavours to interact with Egyptian culture besides exerting relentless efforts to promote the Spanish language and culture. The centre, headed by my diligent friend Antonio Gil de Carrasco, has organised a project aiming at translating movies directed by prominent Egyptian directors into Spanish. They will be screened all over Spain, in Cervantes centres across the Arab world, and at the Egyptian Institute for Islamic Studies in Madrid. The first director to be honoured posthumously is Henri Barakat, whose three blockbusters, Doaa Al-Karawan, Al-Haram and Fi Beitina Ragul, will be translated for Spanish-speaking audiences to enjoy. The three movies are scheduled to be screened at the Centre on 13, 17 and 19 June. A group of cinema personalities will take part in the discussions that will follow the screenings. Among others will be Barakat's daughter Randa, directors Tawfiq Saleh, Hashim El-Nahhas, cinema critics Rafiq El-Sabban and Magda Kheirallah, and silver screen luminaries Faten Hamama and Omar Sharif.
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Dearies, if you weren't at the star-studded Cairo premiere of the biggest Hollywood blockbuster of all times -- Pearl Harbour -- this week, then you certainly missed the night of a lifetime. The sneak preview took place at the Renaissance Cinema at the World Trade Centre on Monday night, and was attended by yours truly, as well as a bevy of prominewnt critics and movie stars. I spotted Iman, Khaled El-Nabawi, Sherif Mounir, Hisham Abdel-Hamid and many others there, as well as my favourite Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, and AUC Press director Mark Linz.
The $140 million movie is one of the most expensive ever made, and is also quite unique because it is being released nearly simulataneously everywhere in the world. I have to admit, my sweets, that the film is not very deep -- but I'm not one to shun superficial melodrama when it's so luxuriusly produced. The plane chases kept me riveted to my seat, and the technicolour Hawaian sunsets took my breath away. And oh what a pleasure it was to gaze upon the beautiful, larger-than-life faces of stars Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and the gorgeous Kate Beckinsdale for nearly three hours as they lived out their daring, romantic lives. If only life could be more like the movies! |
Here is some good news, my pets: I just heard that my dear friend Ibrahim Abdel-Aziz Hegazi, associate professor of marketing and head of the marketing acadmic unit at AUC's Management Department, has received the International Advertising Association (IAA) 2001 Harrison Award, for Best Faculty in Marketing Communications globally. The committee included representatives of advertising agencies, university professors, marketing specialists and global media house moguls. The committee judged faculty teaching records and performance in and outside the classroom. The IAA, established 61 years ago, is among the world's largest representatives of global advertising agencies, media houses, marketing organisations and academic professionals.
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The Press Syndicate announced last week that it was singling out humourist Ahmed Ragab to receive its most prestigious award in recognition of his outstanding journalistic achievements. The syndicate also revealed the result of a competition for best journalist of the year. There were 52 winners, among them 15 Al-Ahram staff. The winners shared the prize of LE108,000 between them. No one was surprised, of course, to find that our own layout editor, Samir Sobhi, had won the first layout prize. Moreover, Abdel-Wahab El-Seheti was awarded third prize in journalistic photography for a photo published in Al-Ahram Weekly.
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Like many Egyptian professional syndicates these days, the Physicians' Syndicate in Alexandria organised an event to honour all those who actively support the Palestinian cause.
The syndicate struck a very touching note by choosing to honour Mohamed Mahdi Akef, a veteran of the 1948 War. Artists, writers and public figures who have lent their support to this noble cause and were the centre of the ceremony were Nadia Lutfi, Mohsena Tawfiq, Nour El-Sherif, Radwa Ashour, Osama Okasha and Mohamed Salmawy. |
Rami, the son of our dear colleague and assistant to the editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Wagdi Riad, celebrated his wedding to Carnia, daughter of businessman Nabil Zeidan, at the Villa Haramlik in Saqqara. The happy couple, who flew to Europe right after the wedding, danced the night away. Among the distinguished guests, I spotted our minister of state for the environment, the dazzling Nadia Makram Ebeid.
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It's not every day, my dears, that I have a chance to find something that reminds me positively of Egypt in the good old days. But this week, I came across a most interesting publication that so resembled the best productions of bygone times I thought I had to share it with you. Hot off the press, the Egypt Almanac 2001 is, in the words of its publishers, my dear friends Paul Geday and Max Rodenbeck, an attempt at "reviving Egypt's tradition of producing quality reference works." Quality was certainly one of the first words that came to my mind when I first saw the elegantly bound hardcover volume, and a more careful reading of its contents made me add the words "comprehensive" and "enlightening" to the description. It's an almanac in every sense of the word, featuring articles, graphs, lists -- basically everything you'll ever need to know about Egypt. The "who's who" section was very similar to the "who's who" books that used to appear every year in the '40s -- it's always so much fun to read descriptions of some of my best friends, all of whom are luminaries in their fields. I was also proud to discover that our very own Tarek Atia, Khaled Dawoud, and Sherif Sonbol are among the contributors to the book. I wish Paul and Max the best of luck in their endeavour, and look forward to picking up a new copy of the almanac from the bookstore every year from now on.
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