The Cairo Film Festival Reborn

Anew president, new tributes and a new venue for its opening ceremony — the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is certainly celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in style. Over 125 films will be shown across the capital city this November 28 through December 8, drawing international movie stars, directors and other industry VIPs.

We hope.

Last July, Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni tapped actor Ezzat Abou-Ouf to become the new CIFF president, taking the reins from Sherif El-Shobashy. It was rumored El-Shobashy resigned due to the limited budget assigned to the festival by the Ministry of Culture. Ironically, that was the same reason Hussein Fahmy gave for resigning the same post four years prior to El-Shobashy’s appointment. Abou-Ouf’s first task was to reportedly call up his friend Naguib Sawiris, the telecoms magnate and one of the most wealthy men in the Arab world, to ask that he make a piddly little donation of LE 6 million to the festival’s coffers.

At the same time, Hosni has nominated international screen star Omar Sharif to be the festival’s honorary president to forge new links between Egyptian and foreign stars.

The CIFF has a long tradition of reaching out to film industries around the world and the ‘guest of honor’ this year is Latin America, with 25 films being screened from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela and Chile. It was rumored too, that Brazilian author Paulo Coelho may be a surprise guest at the festival.

Diana Haddad won’t slow down

The New Arab Cinema (2005-2006) section features some of the latest releases from around the region. A Spanish-Moroccan co-production, La Vida Perra de Juanita Narboni (The Wretched Life of Juanita Narboni, 2005) by Moroccan Farida Ben Lyziad, is an adaptation of the novel by ?ngel V?zquez, tracing 65 years of the life of the people of Tangiers through the eyes of the title character, played by Mariola Fuentes. Khochkhach (Flower of Oblivion, 2005), by Tunisian filmmaker Salma Baccar, revolves around a drug addict named Zakia who is thrown into a hospital against her will. El-Talvaza Gaya (TV is Coming, 2006) is a Tunisian comedy by Moncef Dhouib about a small village being photographed by a German TV crew.

The New Arab Cinema section this year will also show the first-ever Saudi film, Keif Al-Hal? (How Are You Doing?), directed by Palestinian-Canadian filmmaker Isidore K. Musallam and produced by Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal. It stars Hisham Abdul Rahman (who first appeared on Star Academy) and Fatima Al-Hawsani. Another first-timer is Oman, with a film entitled Al-Boom, directed by Khaled Al-Zedjaly.

In a tribute to the Lebanese film industry, which was devastated by this summer’s war, the CIFF will be screening classic and contemporary Lebanese films including Le Cerf-Volant (The Kite, 2003), by Randa Chahal Sabag; A Perfect Day (2005), by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige; Bosta (Post, 2005), by Philippe Aractingi; and Terra Incognita (2002), by Ghassan Salhab.

At press time, the festival’s organizing committee was still reviewing which of seven entries from Egypt would be selected to enter the competition. Among the contenders: Sayyad El-Yamama (The Dove Hunter), directed by Ismail Murad and starring Ashraf Abdel-Baky and Basma; Mafeesh Gheir Keddah (Nothing But This), directed by Khaled El-Haggar and starring Nabila Ebeid and Rola Mahmoud; Ostoghommaya (Hide and Seek), directed by Emad El-Bahat and starring Ahmed Yehia and Amr Mamdouh; and Qass We Lazq (Cut and Paste), directed by Hala Khalil and starring Hanan Turk and Sherif Mounir.

Worth mentioning: two films co-starring Abou-Ouf himself might make the cut, director Ahmed Youssry’s big-screen debut 45 Youm (45 Days), starring Ahmed El-Fishawy, and Mateegy Norqoss, the Inas El-Degheidy version of Shall We Dance, starring Youssra and Tamer Hagrass.

Nourhanne goes online

Continuing its tradition of honoring cineastes of Arab origin who have achieved international success, the CIFF will recognize Algerian filmmaker Rachid Benhadj; filmmaker Ali Selim, who directed the award-winning Sweet Land (2005); and Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud, who played the character of Salah El-Din in Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven (2005).

At press time, festival officials were trying to confirm the attendance of Lebanese-American television actor Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and the five stars of Indigènes (2006) — Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila and Bernard Blancan — who, as an ensemble, won the Best Actor Award at the 2006 Cannes Festival.

As part of its thirtieth anniversary celebrations, the CIFF will screen films that have won the Golden Pyramid since 1991.

Film buffs are also advised to check out Az utols? blues (The Last Blues, 2002) by Péter G?rdos; the Finnish film ?ideist? parhain (Mother of Mine, 2005); Greece’s O Vasilias (The King, 2003) by Nikos Grammatikos; and the Indian entry The Terrorist, directed by Santosh Sivan.

Also, as a special tribute to late Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz, the festival will screen feature El-Callej?n de los Milagros (Midaq Alley, 1995) and Principio y fin (The Beginning and the End, 1993), two Mexican adaptations of the Mahfouz novels of the same titles.

Mira releases a brand new hit single

The gorgeously restored Mohammed Ali Palace in Shubra is set to host the festival’s opening ceremony, while films will be screened at CityStars (Nasr City), Metro (Downtown), Cosmos (Downtown), Galaxy (Manial), Good News Cinema (Grand Hyatt Hotel, Garden City) and the Cairo Opera House.

Going Regional

For the first time, Egyptian antiquities will soon make a tour of Arab countries. The tour is scheduled to begin in Bahrain with an exhibition of the treasures of King Tutankhamun, which will arrive there — the date has yet to be announced —after they complete a two-year tour of the United States and Europe.

Although the idea of major works of antiquity traveling outside Egyptian borders was met with much criticism when it was first suggested, it has proven a profitable endeavor, with the US tour alone generating revenues topping $20 million.

The money will be used to restore a number of Egyptian monuments and museums.

Courtesy TNC Mona Zaki (left) and Ragaa El-Giddawy (right) in a scene from El-Cinderella

Poetic License?

Another attempt at Arab solidarity looks set to be nipped in the bud. The first Arab Poetry Conference, scheduled to take place next February, has already started generating rumors and debate. Although it is dedicated to Lebanese poetry — inspired by Lebanese resistance to this summer’s Israeli invasion — only two of the four Lebanese poets invited have agreed to participate in the conference — Paul Sha’oul and Joseph Harb.

Here at home, Egyptian poets are unhappy with the list of participants, which was recently leaked (allegedly by someone on the organizing committee). The list reveals that many important names — indeed, entire waves of Egyptian poets — will be completely overlooked.

Months before the conference prize is due to be announced, some are saying that the LE 100,000 award will be handed out for political and not artistic reasons. The conference is set to review Egyptian poetry of the past 100 years, starting with Mahmoud Sami El-Baroudy. Fifty poets from all over the Arab are set to attend, including guests of honor Mahmoud Darwish from Palestine and Adonis from Lebanon, who are two of the strongest contenders for the prize.

Adonis has several times been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature. (MJ)

Youssef El-Husseiny presents FanTV

Saudi Business

Egyptian Media Production City (EMPC) recently inked a deal with a Saudi company to launch a new business-oriented channel, Ektesadia TV.

EMPC CEO Sayed Helmy and Ektesadia TV Vice President Tarek Ahmed were both present for the signing of the agreement.

Part of the Celebration

With Ramadan over, the music business emerges from its month-long vacation as singers release new albums to coincide with eid vacations around the region starting as early as the last day or two of Ramadan.

APUTV Secretary-General Ibrahim Abou Zekry

Among the first out of the gate: Singer Mira, another graduate of Star Academy, recently shot a music video for the song “Wala Momken” (Impossible) directed by Mazen Saeed. The single is featured in her as-yet-untitled debut album, due in stores soon.

Diana Haddad shows no signs of slowing down either. Following the success of her duet “Mass we Louly” (Diamonds and Pearls) with 1990s Rai icon Cheb Khaled and the romantic single “Aady” (Normal), the Lebanese pop star is set to release “Zay El-Sokkar” (Like Sugar). The song is the third video single from her hit album Diana 2006. Directed by the talented Yasser Samy, the video was shot on location in the Cairo Metro, Media Production City, a military airport and Downtown’s Talaat Harb Street.

Egyptian starlets had better get their acts together, as the Lebanese seem to be gaining ground. Hot to trot of late is Lebanese singer Nourhanne, who just launched her official website (Nourhanne.com) which includes, of all things, photos of the singer caught by paparazzi. If you’re a real fan, you may also opt for some memorabilia, including a Nourhanne mug, cap, or T-shirt.

But then you’d be obsessed, wouldn’t you?

May El-Hariry, not believing in idle hands, is set to launch her self-produced second album Falaha, Ya Beih (Sir, I’m a Peasant)! We hope she’s only joking and that this is not an interesting revelation of any form.

It is also rumored that Mostafa Qamar is mulling over launching his latest album, Mesh Awaydak (Not Your Habits), while shooting his new film Esabet El-Doctor Omar (Dr. Omar’s Gang), which sees him on screen yet again with favorite co-star Yasmine Abdel Aziz.

Finally, in a true departure from the commercial pap currently emptying local wallets is Aswat Al-Sharq Al-Gadida (New Voices of the East). The album is a compilation of Arab songs, including “Arabia” by Lebanon’s Ziyad El-Ahmadia, “Sharqiyat,” by Egyptian Grammy winner Fathy Salama, and “Obour” (Crossing) by Mohsen Sobhy from Palestine.

Ramadan Harvest

Nagat Al-Sagheera, sister of the late silver-screen legend Soad Hosny, was first in line with a suit against Tarek Nour Communications (TNC), the producers of the serial El-Cinderella (The Cinderella). Al-Sagheera claimed damage to her reputation from how she was depicted in the serial depicting her late sister’s life. Other family members were quick to follow suit, claiming the serial adopted the theory that Hosny had committed suicide.

TNC was also sued by a rival production group that claimed it had the sole rights to any screen adaptation of Hosny’s story.

More fun came from the Tourist Guide Syndicate, whose members filed a case against the serial Nour El-Sabah (The Light of Day). The plaintiffs alleged that the serial’s star, Layla Elwy, defamed their profession by playing a tourist guide who smokes sheesha and dances with foreigners visiting Egypt.

In another case, an animal-rights association — not the vegetable merchants, this time — sued the producers of Souq El-Khodar (The Vegetable Market), claiming production staff had overworked a poor dog that died on set.

Finally, writer Mohammed Refaat allegedly wanted to sue the producer of Qalb El-Donya (Heart of the World), the serial he originally wrote, because his name only appears for three seconds during the in title sequence.

Melody and Nogoum vs Zoom

Following the launch of Zoom, a Mazzika sister channel that bills itself as offering “specialized entertainment programs,” the Melody group of channels is raising the stakes with similar plans of their own. Last month, Melody Hits rolled out a new weekly entertainment show, FanTV.

The show is modeled after the highly successful syndicated E! News. FanTV’s presenters, Youssef El-Husseiny and Safaa Tag El-Din, surf the latest entertainment news and host a different star guest in each episode.

El-Husseiny and director Mohammed Kowena are already well known to the capital city’s radio listeners from their work on Nogoum FM radio station team. Nogoum and Melody are teaming up to face down rising competition in the cut-throat satellite television market. (SA)

Arab League to Host

Ibrahim Abou Zekry, secretary-general of the Arab Producer’s Union for Television (APUTV), recently confirmed that the Third Arab Producers Assembly will be held in Cairo this year, running the week of November 11–18.

The opening and closing ceremonies are set to take place in the Arab League building, where TV producers and representatives from satellite broadcasters around the region will gather. Abou Zekry tells Egypt Today the Assembly will host a number of privately owned companies in addition to the NileSat and ArabSat authorities, the Arab League’s Higher Committee for Production, the Union of Arab Radio Stations and the Union of Arab Journalists.

The event aims to boost coproductions between Arab states.

And what would a gathering like this be without awards? Among those set to be doled out at APUTV are the coveted Creativity Award and an award for a top “Arab Production Figure.” The board of directors of the Arab Association of Ministers of Interior and ArabSat are also slated to give out awards.

Delegates will attend symposia on media cities in the Arab world, the balance between state-owned and private broadcasters, children’s programming, how Arab productions reflect social issues, music-video / pop culture.

A producer whose career spans over 35 years, Abou Zekry founded the APUTV in 1989. He also supervised, starting in 1994, the first three annual Television and Radio Festivals organized by the Egyptian Radio and Television Union . (SA)

Nobel Stance

Much to the surprise of both his fans and detractors, this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature went to controversial Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk. No sooner had the award been announced than critics were writing off the achievement as a result of political pressure.

The fairly young writer (he’s 54) had faced charges of insulting the Turkish state because of his strong condemnation of both Turkey’s massacre of Armenians and the death of more than 30,000 separatist Kurds in recent decades.

But serious critics and fans believe Pamuk truly deserves the Nobel. In its statement, the Nobel Academy noted that “in his search for the soul of his poignant city, Pamuk discovered new evidence of the conflict and merging of civilizations.”

The Nobel Academy also mentioned Pamuk’s third novel, The White Castle, which is considered by many to be Pamuk’s first great work. Other acclaimed writings include the Impac award-winning novel My Name is Red, in which Pamuk discusses art, religion and politics through a murder mystery set in the 1600s, The Black Book, The New Life, Snow, and Istanbul: Memories and the City.

High and Mighty

Controversy over what the media has dubbed the “Citadel Towers” reached new heights last month after Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni reportedly suspended Dr. Abdallah Kamel, the director of the Islamic and Coptic antiquities’ sector.

Insiders claim Hosni berated Kamel for his failure to inform the ministry that a leading businessman was building a number of high-rise buildings on the hills facing the Citadel.

The question is: Why fire him now? It’s not as if the threat of high-rises so close to the Citadel hadn’t been discussed for months in Egyptian newspapers. The towers’ existence directly violates international antiquities preservation measures as they fall within the safety zone of the ancient Citadel.

Under Egypt’s Antiquities Act, the Supreme Council for Authorities (SCA) has the right to halt any construction around a monument if it falls within a three-kilometer radius.

Mohammed Nosseir, the high-profile founder of Alkan Holding, had originally hoped that the Cairo Financial and Tourist Center project would be home to the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE), which is slated to move out of Downtown Cairo by the end of the decade. Instead, the CASE will be taking up residence in the Smart Village, serving as the core of a new “Egyptian Wall Street” within the Middle East’s leading knowledge park.

Still, this didn’t stop Nosseir from completing four floors of his core complex as a group of experts from UNESCO arrived in Cairo last month to study the situation.

The SCA had previously voiced objections to the project, SCA Secretary-General Zahi Hawass told he local press, adding that Nosseir was able to go on with his construction work anyway. Experts believe the ground in the area is very fragile, so any digging and drilling could cause significant damage to the Citadel and the surrounding antiquities.

Carved in Stone

Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni is preparing to open yet another museum this month, this time in the beautiful coastal city of Rachid, where the Rosetta Stone was discovered by the French in 1799 and translated in 1822.

According to SCA head Zahi Hawass the LE 4-million, two-building complex will feature a three-floor historical construction dating back to the Ottoman era. In the 1960s, the building was turned into a small museum depicting Rachid’s role in the struggle against the British occupation.

The museum will display some 700 pieces, the most important of which are Umayyad and Ottoman gold and bronze coins.  et