Film flashes

IT SEEMS THE furor over the film Baheb El-Cima isnt about to die down. At press time, the Prosecutor General's Office was still investigating a lawsuit filed by a number of religious leaders and Christian businessmen that could see the film pulled out of theaters. More alarming for those who follow free-speech issues: A second lawsuit filed against the film's director Osama Fawzi and producer Arabian Distribution Company.

Both suits claim the makers of the film purposefully held the Coptic faith in contempt, a criminal offense under Egyptian law. If nothing else, the case brings to mind the hesba lawsuits of the last decade, which drove Dr. Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid out of the country after "concerned" members of the community tried to obtain a judicial verdict ordering him divorced from his wife.

On a more optimistic note, Alexandria Film Festival President Raouf Tawfik announced the results of festival's first-ever poster design competition. Artist Ahmed Hussein El-Bazs entry celebrating the Second City's rich history won first prize and will serve as the official poster for the gathering.

Director Ali Badrakhan was recently admitted to the French Qasr El-Aini Hospital with a suspected case of meningitis. His friends, although worried about his health, jokingly suggested that it must be the evil eye: Badrakhan won the State Creativity Award a few weeks before his admission.

After years away, seasoned actress Samiha Ayyub is back directing stage plays, this time with a script by close friend Fathia El-Assal. Called Leilet El-Henna (Henna Nights), the play is based on the current politics of the Arab world; it should be broadcast on state-run television this fall.

(AP Photo) Crowds flocking to Baheb El-Cima

THE MINISTRY of Culture has launched yet another periodical, this one a glossy monthly magazine. Fonoun Masriyyas first issue included articles on architecture, music, antiquities and plastic arts, quickly making it a must-have for anyone looking for information on Egyptian art.

THE PAST FEW months have been exceptionally rich on the antiquities front. Among some of the most important developments:

The Manuscript Museum may be opening its doors to visitors in the coming weeks. Housed in Abdin Palace, the museum holds a display of priceless pre-1952 manuscripts and has been closed for two years while some LE 2 million in renovations took place.

Occupying a space in the Sayyeda Zeinab mosque, Egypts first Islamic Manuscripts Museum should also open in the coming weeks. It holds 12,000 of the rarest manuscripts in the Islamic world, all of which have been digitally scanned and are available to researchers. The original manuscripts are stored in a sterile room.

In other manuscript news: The Daftarkhana, or what is today known as Dar El-Kutub and the National Manuscript Center, celebrates its 175th anniversary in October. An international conference will be held in honor of the occasion and should include discussions about manuscript preservation laws and techniques.

While eating in a Zamalek restaurant, Supreme Council for Antiquities head Zahi Hawass discovered the cover of a sarcophagus dating back to the modern dynasty. The antiquity was simply lying there, and no one was able to tell him how it arrived. Hawass promptly ordered the cover moved to the antiquities storerooms in Matariyya.

Twelve years after a French expedition discovered the tomb of Bet-Shoo, the SCA has finally signed off on the expeditions request to piece together the Dakhla-area antiquity. Meanwhile, another tomb was recently discovered in the most unlikely of locations: Ard El-Naam (Ostrich Land) in Ain Shams. The beautifully decorated tomb is surrounded by moist ground, leaving the SCA to research ways of opening it without ruining the delicate reliefs and drawings inside.

Water is also proving a challenge at Qenas Esna Temple, where the infiltration of underground water has the SCA planning to commission a Dutch company to tear the temple apart, raise it above the water level, then piece it back together.

Finally, the War Path of Horus has long been the subject of debate. Was it a myth, or historical fact? Only a handful of the 11 forts said to mark the ancient protective boundaries delineating Egypt's territories have been discovered. Last month, three new forts believed to have been a part of the path were unearthed north of Ismailiyya, where they are thought to have marked and protected the kingdoms eastern borders. SCA officials are ecstatic, saying they believe the forts could shed new light on the military logic of the ancient Egyptians. et