Al-Ahram Weekly | Culture

		11 - 17 July 2002 Issue No. 594 Culture	Current issue Previous issue Site map
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Recommend this page

Media galore
LAST SATURDAY saw the opening ceremony of the Eighth Cairo Festival for Radio and Television (6-10 July), reports Hanan Sabra. The event was held at the Conference Centre of the Media Production City. Information ministers, state and private-sector media officials from 20 Arab countries attended.
In the second round of the festival the annual awards were supplemented by a special Palestinian-solidarity prize. This year the official competition featured more than 900 productions. Seminars on the Palestinian question and the image of Arabs in the West were also scheduled.
The ceremony opened with a speech by Hassan Hamed, president of the festival, followed by Information Minister Safwat El- Sherif's address, in which he stressed the importance of the Media Production City, which opened officially last month. "Obstacles no longer stand in our way," El-Sherif announced. "We have a media apparatus that enables us to undertake the most taxing productions, and to make our voice heard the world over. The lastest technologies, including satellites, are well within our grasp."
Actors Hussein Fahmi, Youssra, Laila Elwi and Mohamed Sobhi were awarded the Festival Shield. Saad Labib, a veteran media figure, was named this round's honourary president. Also honoured were late writer Tharwat Abaza, directors Yehia El-Alami and Mahmoud Rahmi, actor Ahmed Mazhar and singer Moharram Fouad. A 15-minute documentary outlining the achievement of these media figures was screened, followed by a Palestine-oriented show entitled Taht Al- Hesar (Under siege), with comedian Mohamed Henedi.

Multi-Maghreb
THE FILMING of Moroccan-Egyptian singer Samira Said and Franco Algerian rai master Cheb Mami's first duet was completed in Cairo last week. Composed by Amr Mustafa, the lyrics of Yom Wara Yom (Day After Day) were written by Sherif Tag and the promotional video directed by Sherif Sabri.

Jordanian dreams
REPRESENTATIVES from the Cairo Biennale of Children's Arts (to open on 2 November) returned last week from Amman, where the delegation met with the Jordanian Ministry of Culture, which will be honoured by the biennale this year, to fine-tune the proceedings. Jordan's Minister of Culture Haydar Mahmoud, Biennale commissar Ishaq Azmi announced, will head the all-Arab symposium to take place alongside the exhibitions and performances. For the duration of the event a special exhibition on Jordan will be held.

Little opera
THE OPERA House's extracurricular Talent Development Centre (founded in 1989) concluded its year-long course last week with a large-scale popular performance held in the Main Hall. Some 70 students of the centre displayed their capabilities from nay virtuosos to ballet and tap dancers.

Imam strikes
A PRIVATE screening of Adel Imam's much anticipated film, Amir Al-Zalam (Prince of Darkness), directed by Imam's son Rami, took place at a five-screen cinema complex in Nasr City last week. A high-profile event, it was attended by, among others, presidential advisor Osama El-Baz and Minister of Administrative Development Zaki Abu Amer. The film's stars -- Imam, Sherine Seif El- Nasr, Tamer Abdel-Moniem and Khaled Sarhan -- mingled with actors and singers Laila Elwi, Allaa Waleieddin, Lucy, Youssef Shaaban, Anoushka, Medhat Saleh and many others.

Number 17
FORMER UN secretary and chairman of the International Francophone Foundation Boutros Ghali received his 17th honourary PhD this week from the Kueng Hi University in Seoul, South Korea, in recognition of his efforts to spread peace and his outstanding performance as an Egyptian statesman.

Garden books
LAST week Cairo Governor Abdel-Rehim Shehata and Anas El-Fiqi, head of the General Organisation for Cultural Palaces, inaugurated the "cultural garden" programme, part of the Reading for All festival activities, at the Fustat Gardens. The inaugural celebration featured folk music performances as well as book sales.

City, again
A DELEGATION of Arab diplomats led by the media consultants at Cairo embassies visited the Media Production City following its official opening on the occasion of Media Day. Accompanied by the CEO of the city, Abdel-Rahman Hafez, they toured studios belonging to the Radio and Television Union as well as the Orbit and MBC satellite networks. They also visited old and new outdoor shooting locations and the International Media Academy building.

Local media
OPENING last Sunday, the Port Fouad Media Centre's intensive cultural programme -- to coincide with the Reading for All Festival -- features a range of activities directed at expanding children's awareness and capitalising on their creative potential. The activities include exhibitions, seminars and screenings.

Poet acquitted
THE AMMAN courts acquitted Jordanian poet Mousa Al-Hawamda following a three- year trial. Early in 2000, on publishing a collection of poems, Shajari A'la (My Trees Are Higher), Hawamda was the object of an Islamist campaign. Shortly after he was charged with deriding the Qur'an and effectively declaring himself an apostate. The issue spiralled, drawing in various Islamic and intellectual currents until the verdict of not guilty was finally pronounced.

Off to Russia
RUSSIAN officials have invited Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz and PA President Yasser Arafat to participate in celebrating St Petersburg's 300th anniversary. While it remains unlikely that Mahfouz, who seldom travels, will go, Arafat is expected to use the opportunity to consolidate his political position.
Compiled by Youssef Rakha

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