Al-Ahram Weekly | Culture

		30 May - 5 June 2002 Issue No.588 Culture	Current issue Previous issue Site map
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Recommend this page

Briefs
Compiled by Amina Elbendary

Daring humour

Elia Suleiman

THE 55th CANNES International Film Festival Jury, headed by American director David Lynch, announced the winners of this year's prizes on Sunday. Roman Polanski's The Pianist won the much coveted Palme d'Or, while Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki won the Grand Prix (runner-up to the Palme d'Or) for The Man Without a Past. Palestinian director Elia Suleiman was awarded The Jury Prize (Special Recognition) for Yadon Ilaheyya (Divine Intervention), a film that met with critical acclaim upon its screening in Cannes. Its sensitive and daringly humorous treatment of the Arab-Israeli struggle impressed many. Yadon Ilaheyya also won the Cannes International Critics' Prize.
Though Arab participation in Cannes dates back to 1949, when Egyptian director Salah Abu Seif participated in the official contest with Adventures of Antar and Abla, Elia Suleiman's prize is only the fourth to be awarded to an Arab entry in the 55 year history of the festival. The first and only Palme d'Or awarded to an Arab film was won in 1975 by the Algerian director Lakhdar-Hamina for his film about the Algerian war of independence, Chronique des Années de Braise. In 1991 Lebanese director Maroun Baghdadi won the Prix du Jury for his Hors la Vie, while Youssef Chahine's Al-Massir (Destiny) won the special 50th anniversary Prix du Cinquantieme in 1997. (see p.30)

Nasser Museum
ON THE occasion of the 50th anniversary of the July 1952 Revolution the Cultural Fund is supporting a project to renovate the Gamal Abdel-Nasser Museum in Bakus, Alexandria. This is the house in which the late president was born in 1918. On display are family belongings including furniture and a photographic collection. The building's foundations are threatened by rising water and it has suffered many years of neglect.
SAAD Zaghloul's home, commonly referred to as Bayt Al-Umma (home of the nation) a museum closed for many years, will soon reopen to the public. New artefacts and memorabilia belonging to Zaghloul have been acquired and renovated for display. The basement will include a lecture hall, a reading hall and a library.

State awards
THE SUPREME Council for Culture will vote on 10 June on this year's state awards and the Mubarak awards.
Among those tipped for the Mubarak awards are Shawqi Dayf, Abdel-Qader El- Qutt and the late Tharwat Abaza for literature. This is the third year Dayf has been nominated. Candidates for the social science awards include Ismail Sabri Abdallah, El-Sayed Yasin and former prime ministers Ali Lutfi and Atef Sidqi. In the artistic field contenders include artist Tahiya Halim and former Minister of Culture Tharwat Okasha.
Among the figures nominated for the State Merit awards in literature are Alaa El- Dib, Mohamed Enani, Ibrahim Eissa, Ibrahim Abdel-Rahman and Farouk Guweida. Fawzi Fahmi, head of the Academy of Arts, is expected to turn down his nomination since he occupies an official position in the selection committee.

Khashaba for Thaqafa
RUMOURS are circulating that critic and journalist Sami Khashaba will be appointed editor-in-chief of the Cultural Palaces periodical Al-Thaqafa Al-Gadida which is due to reappear in July as part of the Reading for All summer festival.
Al-Thaqafa Al-Gadida's last issue appeared in February 2001.

Go East
THE SUPREME Council for Culture held its annual seminar on poetry translations from Eastern languages. In his opening speech secretary-general Gaber Asfour announced that an annual award of LE10,000 would be presented for the best translation of a book from an Eastern language.

Ismailia on time
GOVERNOR of Ismailia, Fouad Saadeddin, has decided that the 13th round of the International Ismailia Folklore Festival will be held as originally scheduled, during the last week of August. Twenty-seven troupes will be participating this year including groups from South Africa, Cuba, Macedonia.

Playing again
THE FREE Theatre group which stopped performing in 1954 is to be resurrected under the direction of Abdel-Moneim Madbuli. Madbuli is supervising the renovation of the theatre in downtown Cairo. The opening play is expected to be Noaman Ashour's classic Al-Nas Illi Taht (The People Below), directed by Madbuli himself.

Playing abroad
AL-NAS Illi Fi Al-Talit (The People on the Third), the National Theatre production written by Osama Anwar Okasha and directed by Mohamed Omar, has received an official invitation to participate in the Rabat Theatre Festival.
Meanwhile, Ahmed El-Attar's play Al- Haya Hilwa Aw Fi Intizar Ammi Illi Gay Min Amrika (Life is Beautiful or Waiting for my Uncle Who's Coming Back from America) was performed by Al-Ma'bad troupe in Beirut's Al-Madina theatre. El- Attar's ninth play starred Salwa Mohamed Ali, Ahmed Kamal, Hassan Keredli and Walid Marzouq.

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