Egypt s Minister of Antiquities and Toursim Khaled al-Anani has unveiled a plan to renovate the area surrounding the Great Pyramids of Giza, which would include building the first café and restaurant to serve tourists at the location, according to official statements issued by the Minister on Tuesday, February 4. Anani said that the area was lacking even basic shops for bottles of water, adding that the development project will be allow Egyptian companies to provide various services in the area — major step in the history of the tourist destination. Part of ongoing efforts to encourage more visitors to the Great Pyramids and boost tourism in the country more broadly, the restaurant will allow visitors to have lunch while gazing out at what is arguably Egypt s most remarkable site, Anani said. The Minister added that the plan will take place under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in order to “show full appreciation” for the archeological value of the area. The project to revamp the area surrounding the Pyramids was first unveiled when Orascom investment signed an agreement in 2018 with the Supreme Council of Antiquities to launch a platform for offering different services at the site. The agreement gives the Supreme Council the sole right to administer facilities in the area, according to a previous official statement. Egypt has also worked to improve roads leading to the much anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which is located nearby the Giza Pyramids and is set to open its doors to the public this year. In light of official estimates of five million visitors to the GEM annually, Fayoum road is set to be expanded to four times its current size to fit the capacity for cars heading to the new mega museum and the Great Pyramids of Giza.

The chairman of the General Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO) Haytham al-Haj Ali said that 3.5 million people visited the 51st edition of Cairo s International Book Fair, held between January 23 and February 4th this year. He added that Egypt s Ministry of Culture made “huge” efforts to make sure that the 2020 book fair, which was held for the second time in the distant suburb of New Cairo, proved a success. Haj added that the Book Fair s administration had honored Senegal this year as a “Guest of Honor,” and announced that Greece will be the “guest of honor” of the Cairo International Book Fair next year. The National Center for Translation and the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies also organized a symposium for the late professor of Hebrew Arts Ibrahim al-Bahrawy and presented the fourth part of the “6th of October Victory in Israeli Documents” at Cairo s book fair on Tuesday. The organizers say the documents, which were declassified, “confirm” Egypt s victory in the 1973 October War. In 2019, the book fair was moved from the fairgrounds at Nasr City to the distant suburb of New Cairo, with some publishers protesting the move and vendors from popular used-book markets opting to hold their own event. Entitled “Egypt –Africa, A Culture of Diversity,” the 51st edition of the book fair locked down 900 publishing houses, compared to 747 publishers in attendance in 2019, according to President of the Arab Publishers Association Mohammad Rashad. Vendors from Sour El-Azbakeya, a well-known used book market in the heart of Cairo that did not attend the fair in 2019, were also back this year. Over 2.5 million people attended last year s fair, according to the Ministry of Culture. Also on Tuesday, Minister of Culture Enas Abdel Dayem expressed her sadness over the death of legendary Egyptian actress Nadia Lotfy, and attended the memorial ceremony for the death of young writer Mohammed Khalifa, asking that his play, which won the Sharjah Festival for Gulf Theater Prize, be printed.

The 46th edition of the annual Egyptian Film Society Festival for Egyptian Cinema, which is organized by the Cairo Film Society in an effort to highlight Egypt s local film scene, has announced this year s winners, with independent movie “When we re born” sweeping to victory this year to win the coveted best picture award. Winners were selected by a jury headed by legendary film critic Kamal Ramzi and announced by The Film Society Festival Administration, which is led by filmmaker Mahmoud Abdel Samie, after 8 films were screened at the Artistic Creativity Center of the Cairo Opera House between January 25 and February 1. The festival, which is supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, aims to highlight domestic talent and “give due recognition…to legends that have given their blood and sweat to the industry,” according to an earlier press release from the festival s organizers. Independent film “When we re born” swept the festival s awards, beating its competition this year for best film. The movie, which was directed by Tamer Ezzat and took over 10 years to make, follows the hopes and trials of three Egyptian characters – a son who dreams of pursuing a singing career despite his father s objections, a Christian woman in love with a Muslim man, and a newlywed personal trainer who is forced to compromise his values for the opportunity to own a gym. Actress Salma Hassan received the award for best actress in a leading role for her work in “When we re born,” and Hanan Soliman, meanwhile, won the award for best supporting actress for the same film, while director Tamer Ezzat received best director and late screenwriter Nadine Shams awarded for best scenario. Actress Oumayma El Sibai also received a certificate of appreciation from the festival s jury for her role in the film. Meanwhile, “Blue Elephant 2,” the sequel to mystery-thriller film “The Blue Elephant” (2014), won the award for best makeup, which went to Tarek Mostafa, best voice mixer awarded to Ahmed Abu El-Saad, and best costume designer for Nahed Nasrallah. The film s musical director Hisham Nazih received the award for the best score at the festival and Ahmed Hafez won the award for best film editing. Outside of the two top films, Mohamed Saad received the award for best actor in a leading role for the movie “The Treasure 2,” with Bassem Samra awarded best actor in a supporting role for “Rizk s Sons 2.” Maged Al-Kadwani received the “special jury award” for his role in the movie “The Guest,” directed by Hadi Al-Bagouri, and interior designer Ali Hussam received the award for best set design for the same film. Director of photography Ahmed Youssef received the award for best photography for the film “Scarecrow,” with “Between two seas ” winning “best film poster.” “The Guest,” which is directed by Hadi El-Bagoury and follows an eight-year-old Syrian girl displaced to Turkey, also received the highest number of votes from the public following the film screening, according to the festival s organizers, winning the festival s “audience award.” The artists are set to be honored with the festival s awards on February 8 at a ceremony set to be held in Muhammad Farid cinema on Cairo s Imad Al-Din Street.

The Cairo Opera House will present Tosca, an opera in three acts by legendary Italian composer Giacomo Puccini starting on Tuesday, as part of an initiative to perform the world s most famous classical works in Cairo, a statement from the Egyptian opera house said on Sunday. Tosca will be shown at the Cairo Opera House s Main Hall for four consecutive nights, starting at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, February 4. The performance, directed by Hisham El-Tally, will be accompanied by the Cairo Opera Orchestra, led by Italian conductor David Crescenzi, the Cairo Opera Choir, and the children s choir of the Talents Development Center. The heart wrenching opera is based on Victorien Sardou s 1887 French-language dramatic play, “La Tosca” (1887), and revolves around events that took place in Rome in 1800 during the French invasion of Italy. The story centers around two protagonists in love: Mario Cavaradossi, a painter, and Floria Tosca, the soprano diva after which the opera is named. Mario vows to save Angelott, an escaped political prisoner hiding in the church where Mario is painting. When Scarpia, the police chief, arrives to the church, he becomes suspicious, arrests Cavaradossi and sends him to be tortured. Tosca only obtains her lover s freedom by agreeing to give herself to Scarpia. Before this happens, however, Scarpia signs a deed granting free passage to the two lovers while vowing to put Cavaradossi through a “mock execution.” But Tosca, unable to accept the price set by Scarpia, murders the police chief. The final scene of the iconic opera is set at Cavaradossi s mock execution, but when the smoke clears, Tosca hurries to her lover s body and finds – to her horror – that she has been tricked: Cavaradossi was dead. The realization prompts the tragedy s female lead to leap from a balcony to her death in the final moments of the opera. Tosca premiered in Rome in 1900 and explores themes of political intrigue, romance, and death set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. The opera s composer Puccini has produced several other notable works, including La Bohème (1896) and Madama Butterfly (1904).

Newly-founded Egyptian band Kahareb will be performing at Room Art Space on 13 February, where they will introduce "electrifying sound with storytelling and contemporary visual vernacular." Founded in 2018 by its lead singer Youssef Atwan and bassist Mokhtar El-Sayeh, Kahareb, who released four music videos starting with El-Sauce, are developing their audio/visual experience into live performances.

Egypt s Dokki Midemeanor Court handed actor Ahmed el-Fishawy a one-year prison sentence and LE500 fine and set his bail at LE 2,000, over his refusal to pay his daughter s expenses. Fishawy, his teenage daughter Lina, and the actor s former spouse Hend al-Hennawy have been embroiled in a series of court disputes since 2005. The Khalifa Family Court previously sentenced the actor, director and producer to one month in jail in August 2019 for refusing to pay LE 234,600 in alimony for his daughter, according to a statement from his ex-wife s lawyer Shaaban Said. The Family Court issued the one-month prison sentence based on a document submitted by Said proving that Fishawy, the star of Sheikh Jackson (2017), is financially capable of supporting his daughter Lina. Hennawy s lawyer said that Fishawy is now stuck between two choices: either pay his daughter s alimony or be imprisoned for an entire month, adding that the court sentence cannot be appealed. In a phone interview on the Egyptian TV program “Ana 7awa” (I am Eve) on Mehwar Channel, the lawyer stressed that Hennawy s family does not want to put her ex-husband, the son of late iconic star Farouk al-Fishawy, in jail or ruin his reputation, and so for his sake it would be best if he agreed to pay the alimony. Hennawy s lawyer also expressed a personal willingness to turn down all prior 16 lawsuits issued against Fishawy on behalf of his divorcee, in the event he pays the required money for his daughter. The lawyer mentioned that Farouk al-Fishawy, Hennawy s father-in-law, was devoted to his grandchild and “always keen” to defuse the ongoing tension between his son and Hennawy. Lina is currently studying abroad in the UK following a prior agreement between Lina s grandfather and her mother. In response to her father s sentence in August 2019, Lina commented on Instagram: “I am sad, I wish you were there for me like a father to his daughter.” Lina, who posted several photos and comments on Instagram following her grandfather s death, had been asked by social media why she was absent from her grandfather s funeral. Her answer on Instagram clarified that her father had obtained a judicial ruling from the court enabling him to prevent his daughter from returning to the UK in the event she visits Egypt.

The private theatre company Cairo Show will bring its musical comedy version of Aladdin to Egypt with a premiere on 6 February at their theatre in 6 October city. Directed by Magdy Al-Hawary, Aladdin is played by movie star Ahmed Ezz, while Tara Emad is in the role of Jasmine. Comedian Mohamed Tharwat plays the Genie, Samy Maghawry the Sultan, and Hisham Ismael the role of Jaafar The show premiered in Saudi Arabia in December as part of Riyadh Season, a programme of cultural and artistic events in the capital. The same producers and director have previously celebrated the first year of staging the play Talat Ayam Fil-Sahel (“Three Days on the North Coast”) starring comedian Mohamed Henedy. Cairo Show is also showing Yehia El-Fakharany s successful version of Shakespeare’s King Lear at its New Cairo venue. Disney’s live action version of Aladdin was released last year, grossing over $1 bilion dollars in worldwide box office receipts. The film, and its animated 1992 predecessor of the same name, is based on a Middle Eastern folk tale which was included in the famous collection Alf Laila wa Laila (“The Arabian Nights”).

Renowned Egyptian singer Ali El-Haggar will perform on 30 January at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Arts Centre. El-Haggar, 65, who has released new singles recently, will be singing some of his famous TV series themes and most memorable hits. El-Haggar, who received the 2019 Omani Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature, is preparing a duet with Hanan Madi two decades after their smash collaboration in El-Mal wal-Banoon TV series theme. He has been one of the iconic singers in Egypt and the Arab world in the past four decades, collaborating with some of the leading Egyptian lyricists, such as Salah Jahin, Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudy, and Sayed Hegab, in addition to some of the country s renowned composers from Baligh Hamdy and Sayed Mekkawy to Omar Khairat and Fathy Salama.

Goth-inspired pop innovator Billie Eilish cleaned up at Sunday s Grammys, winning all four major awards including the prestigious Album of the Year prize. The 18-year-old beat out stiff competition from viral hitmaker Lil Nas X and the year s most-nominated artist Lizzo. Eilish soared to mainstream stardom over the past year, after having won a fervent online following for her in-your-face pop sound that can get a little creepy at times, with haunting melodies and heavy bass. “Mainly I think the fans deserve everything. I feel like they have not been talked about enough tonight because they re the only reason any of us are here at all,” she said. “So thanks to the fans.” She shared her success with her older brother Finneas O Connell, her primary creative collaborator. “We just make music in a bedroom together,” said O Connell. “We still do that and they let us do that. (…) This is to all of the kids making music in your bedrooms today — you re going to get one of these.” Eilish also offered a shoutout to pop sensation Ariana Grande, saying she in fact deserved Album of the Year for “thank u, next.” The teen star was among the leading Grammy nominees at Sunday s gala — just 17 when the shortlists came out, she is the youngest person ever nominated in all of the top four categories. She scored a total of five awards on six nominations, including both Record and Song of the Year for “Bad Guy” — which made her the first musician born in the 2000s to top the Billboard Hot 100. In claiming the spot, she finally booted Lil Nas X, the country-trap sensation whose viral hit “Old Town Road” set a record of 19 weeks atop the US songs list. Eilish has been an outspoken advocate for action to tackle climate change, banning plastic straws at her shows and encouraging fans to bring their own refillable water bottles. The artist named Billboard s 2019 Woman of the Year has also written and will perform the theme song for the upcoming James Bond film “No Time To Die.” “I feel like I m not supposed to be here,” she told E! television on the red carpet before the gala. “Life is weird.”

The 46th Edition of the Egyptian Film Society Festival for Egyptian Cinema was inaugurated on January 25 at the Creativity Center in the Cairo Opera House, celebrating the January 25 revolution and the National Police Day. The opening ceremony, which started with the national anthem, was presented by critic Sherif Gad in the presence of a large number of media professionals, filmmakers, critics, and members of the film society. The festival began with director of cinematography Mahmoud Abdel Samea announcing the activities of this year s edition, dedicated to the late critic Youssef Sherif Rizkallah. One of the first members of the association since its inception, Rizkallah assumed the presidency of the Film Society in Cairo from 1980 until 1998, and was also the chairperson of the festival s sessions in that period as well. Samie said that he was happy with his presence among the jury, headed by critic Kamal Ramzy. The jury includes Hany Lashin, editor Rahma Montaser, director Mohamed Abu Saif, critics Osama Abdel Fattah, Magda Morris, Ola al-Shafie and Mohamed al-Rubi, interior design engineer Fawzy al-Awamry and photography director Mohamed Ossr. Actress Samiha Ayoub apologized for not joining the jury as she was busy filming a new series in Beirut. Artist Izzat al-Alayli also apologized for his inability to attend the committee due to unexpected commitments, as well as director Hala Khalil who apologized for not attending because of her travel outside of Egypt. Director Amr Abdel Aziz, head of the Art Syndicates Union, expressed his happiness at being present at the festival s opening, saying, “Today we celebrate a festival that has a long-established artistic value. I m happy to be present among the festival s body and filmmakers in this serious festival which seeks and deserves excellence“. Advisor to the Ministry of Culture Khaled Abdel Galil thanked all the attendees, specifically critic Kamal Ramzy, stressing that the Film Society was the reason generations knew about the cinema industry. The opening ceremony was attended by director Ashraf Tawfiq al-Deqn, producer Moataz Abdel Wahab, and other filmmakers. Certificates of appreciation were granted to eight filmmakers chosen through the 2019 Film Society poll on the 34 films produced in 2019. Samiha Ayoub will also be announced as honorary guest of the film festival. Eight filmmakers will compete for the festival s prizes, delivered through a referendum held by the festival s administration among the association s members, critics and specialists. Film screenings will be held daily at the the Artistic Creativity Center at the Opera House. The first film to be screened is “The Guest” by Hadi al-Bagoury, after which a discussion will be held by critic Rami al-Metwally in the presence of several filmmakers. On Sunday, “The Secret Men s Club” will be screened with discussions led by critic Ahmed Saad Eldin. Monday sees the screening of “The Passage”, with its discussion session to be run by critic Khaled Mahmoud. Tuesday is the screening of “The Blue Elephant 2”, with its discussion session headed by Ezzat Elbanna. “The Treasure 2” will be screened on Wednesday, with discussion headed by critic Mohammed Sayed Abdul Rahim. Next, on Thursday “Rizk s Sons 2” will be screened followed by a discussion session by critic Sayed Mahmoud. Friday will then feature the screening of “Scarecrow”, with discussions by critic Mohamed Abdel-Rahman. The festival concludes on Saturday, February 8 with the screening of “When We Are Born”, followed by a discussion session headed by critic Mohamed Nabil. The closing ceremony will be held at the Mohamed Farid cinema in City Center, where prizes will be distributed to the winners and a number of pioneers of Egyptian cinema will be honored – these include actors Ali al-Kassar and Tawfiq al-Daqin, scriptwriter Abu al-Saud al-Abyari and director Mamdouh Shoukry. Other names to be honored include director Dawood Abdel-Sayed, scriptwriter Waheed Hamid, musician Mounir Al-Wasimi, artist Lotfi Labib, interior designer Nihad Bahgat and critic Salah Hashem.

A new series based on the British royal family is coming to TV screens. And it s likely to be a world away from the stately realism of “The Crown Streaming service HBO Max said Tuesday that “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Orlando Bloom will voice the character of Prince Harry in “The Prince” — a new animated comedy series from “Family Guy” writer Gary Janetti. The series will be told from the point of view of the third in line to the throne, 6-year-old Prince George, as he navigates a very unusual childhood. The inspiration for “The Prince” comes from humorous posts on Janetti s Instagram page, which is filled with photos of George appearing to react to family and international news. News of the new show comes as the royal family is firmly in the spotlight following announcements that Harry and his wife, Meghan, would be standing down from their royal duties. “The Prince” will also feature George s parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, his little sister, Princess Charlotte, his Aunt Meghan and Uncle Harry, and his great-grandparents, Philip and Queen Elizabeth II. Written and executive produced by Janetti, the animation will be voiced by some of Hollywood s own royalty. In addition to Bloom as Prince Harry, the series will feature Tom Hollander as both Prince Philip and Prince Charles, Alan Cumming as George s butler Owen and Iwan Rheon as Prince William. “I m thrilled to be working at HBO and bringing them yet another series about a family ruthlessly fighting for the throne,” said Janetti. There is no release date yet for the series. HBO Max, which is due to launch in spring 2020, is owned by WarnerMedia, the parent company of CNN.

Egypt s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Culture Enas Abdel Dayem will open on Wednesday the 51st edition of the Cairo International Book Fair, under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with representatives from seven ministries set to attend the opening ceremony and 40 countries to take part in the festival, the largest and oldest of its kind in the Middle East. Several ambassadors, including the Ambassador of Senegal, the “guest of honor” at the fair this year, will attend the opening of the festival as well. The General Egyptian Book Organization (GEPO) has increased the number of buses to 100 for transporting visitors from Cairo s main squares to the International Exhibition and Convention Center in the distant suburb of New Cairo, which first hosted the fair last year amid protests from some vendors. Entitled “Egypt-Africa, A Culture of Diversity,” the 51st edition of Cairo s world-renowned book fair has also increased the number of pavilions to 808, compared to 722 pavilions in 2019, and 900 Egyptian, Arab and global publishing houses are set to take part, in addition to 41 stalls affiliated with vendors from Cairo s historical used-book market Sour al-Azbakeya, which did not take part in the fair last year. The book fair will organize hundreds of various cultural and art activates, most of which will revolve around various African cultures.

The 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were presented Sunday, and it was a night that made history. “Parasite” became the first foreign language film to ever win the best ensemble award in a race that saw it competing against casts filled with Hollywood legends. Going into the night, the casts of “Bombshell,” “Marriage Story” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” lead film nominees with four each, while the “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” leads among television series. The awards are a peer honor, with actors honoring fellow performers. Robert De Niro received a Life Achievement Award for his work on screen and humanitarian accomplishments. The event airs live on TNT and TBS at Eight pm ET/Five pm. PT. A full list of winners follows below. Television Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Mahershala Ali, “True Detective” Russell Crowe, “The Loudest Voice” Jared Harris, “Chernobyl” Jharrel Jerome, “When They See Us” Sam Rockwell, “Fosse/Verdon” *WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Patricia Arquette, “The Act” Toni Collette, “Unbelievable” Joey King, “The Act” Emily Watson, “Chernobyl” Michelle Williams, “Fosse/Verdon” *WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us” Steve Carell, “The Morning Show” Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show” Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones” *WINNER David Harbour, “Stranger Things” Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning Show” *WINNER Helena Bonham Carter, “The Crown” Olivia Colman, “The Crown” Jodie Comer, “Killing Eve” Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid s Tale” Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Alan Arkin, “The Kominsky Method” Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method” Bill Hader, “Barry” Andrew Scott, “Fleabag” Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” *WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me” Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Catherine O Hara, “Schitt s Creek” Phoebe Waller-Bridge, “Fleabag” *WINNER Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series “Big Little Lies” “The Crown” *WINNER “Game of Thrones” “The Handmaid s Tale” “Stranger Things” Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series “Barry” “Fleabag” “The Kominsky Method” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” *WINNER “Schitt s Creek” Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series “Game of Thrones“ *WINNER “GLOW” “Stranger Things” “The Walking Dead” “Watchmen” Motion Picture Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Christian Bale, “Ford v Ferrari” Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” Adam Driver, “Marriage Story” Taron Egerton, “Rocketman” Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker” *WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet” Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story” Lupita Nyong o, “Us” Charlize Theron, “Bombshell” Renée Zellweger, “Judy” *WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Jamie Foxx, “Just Mercy” Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Al Pacino, “The Irishman” Joe Pesci, “The Irishman” Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” *WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” *WINNER Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit” Nicole Kidman, “Bombshell” Jennifer Lopez, “Hustlers” Margot Robbie, “Bombshell” Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture “Bombshell” “The Irishman” “Jojo Rabbit” “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” “Parasite” *WINNER Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture “Avengers: Endgame” *WINNER “Ford v Ferrari” “The Irishman” “Joker” “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”

Prominent Italian Ballet Troupe “Balletto di Milano” is set to stage the Cairo Opera house, performing “Anna Karenina” on January 22, 23 and 24 at the Main Hall. The event s description lists the show s costume designer as Federico Veratti, visual artist Marco Triaca and music by the legendary P.I. Tchaikovsky. The theatrical performance is adopted from acclaimed novelist Leo Tolstoy s story of Anna, Karenin s wife, a classy woman who happens to meet the bachelor Vronksy, delving into a relationship through which Tolstoy highlights the imperialism of Russian society. Dozens of characters in the story demonstrate love, betrayal, faith, passion and more. Established in Italy and supported by the country s Ministry of Culture, the Balletto di Milano is renowned for introducing a new “cultural phenomena” to the Italian community through its collaborations with international renowned theaters as well as dance festivals across the world. Balletto di Milano was the first ballet troupe to stage the iconic Bolshoi stage, artistically reviving numerous classics including Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet and more.

Over the last few days, Egyptian entertainment channel DMC released a series of short documentaries presenting the variety of art institutes in Egypt. The videos, whose lengths vary between five and 10 minutes each, come three months ahead of the submissions to those schools by potential students. The short documentaries provide the students with insights on the academies missions, their curricula, possible career paths and successes in Egypt and internationally. The videos feature a series of interviews with the schools deans, professors as well as a few of the most successful graduates who already work in the field of their specialisation. The schools featured in each documentary are: the High Institute of Art Criticism, the High Institute of Cinema, the High Institute of Ballet, the Arab Music Institute, the Cairo Conservatory, the Institute for Folkloric Arts, and the High Institute of Theatrical Arts. Many of these are located in a large campus for arts in Cairo or in its close vicinity. An introductory video presents a overview of the schools and history in Egypt. To view all the videos, please visit DMC YouTube channel s documentary section. DMC channel is a general entertainment channel that airs news and talk shows in addition to drama series. It started broadcasting in January 2017.

Egyptian actress Magda Al-Sabahi, whose years of glory marked Egypt s 1950s and 1960, died in Cairo after struggling with illness, Al-Ahram Arabic revealed. Born on 5 May 1939 as Afaf Ali (or Afaf Kamel Al-Sabahi) in Tanta (Gharbia governorate), the Egyptian star was better known as Magda Al-Sabahi, or simply Magda. Throughout three decades of her career, and prior to her retirement from acting, Al-Sabahi appeared in over 60 films, with the most notable roles being those in El-Naseh (1949), Malish had (1954), Hegret El-Rasoul, Ayna Omry (1957), Banat El-Yom (1957), Al-Ragol Allazy Ohebo (1962), El-Omr Lahza (1978), among many others. She played the leading role in Youssef Chahine s historical film Djamila l Algérienne (1958), which tackles the life of Djamila, one of the most remarkable revolutionary women of Algeria.

Award winning Egyptian-American actor Rami Malek has been announced as the latest face of the French fashion brand Yves Saint Lauren, appearing in a newly released a black and white photoshoot boasting several bold looks all in black and white. Featured in the 2020 spring/summer collection by Anthony Vaccarello, Malek rocked pieces including sequined trousers and jackets. Malek was recently nominated a Golden Globe award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama” for his leading role in the USA Network show “Mr. Robot.” The Egyptian-American star previously won the Oscar for Best Actor at the 91st Academy Awards for his acclaimed portrayal of Freddie Mercury, the legendary front man of the British rock band Queen, in the biopic film “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2018). Malek beat Christian Bale for the award, who portrayed former American Vice President Dick Cheney that year in “Vice,” as well as Bradley Cooper, who played musician Jack Maine in “A Star Is Born.” He also took the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a leading role. The Egyptian-American actor first came to major attention for his role in “Mr. Robot,” which was created and produced by Egyptian Sam Esmail, who serves as head writer for the show. Malek stars as Elliot, a brilliant cyber-security engineer and computer hacker who suffers from an anxiety disorder. “Mr. Robot” was a life-changing experience Malek considers a turning point in his career. He described the opportunity to take on the leading role in a popular television series as the experience that put him on the map. Malek s next role is a highly-anticipated appearance in the next Jame s Bond adventure “No Time To Die” (2020). Malek will portray a villain armed with dangerous new technology, with Bond hot on his tail to protect the world from a mysterious new adversary – all in a day s work for 007.

When WWII was coming to an end in the mid-1940s, Egyptian cinema was about to usher in a new stage in which it soared by the use of two wings, comedy and singing, relying on new names in most cases. This explains the reason behind the Egyptian cinema welcoming, at the time, singers and songstresses, especially those coming from the Levant courting attention of the Arab audience. This was precisely what happened with Sabah and her companion and countrywoman Nour Al-Hoda. Nour Al-Hoda, whose real name was Alexandra Nicholas Badran, was born in Turkey on 24 December 1924. Her childhood years were spent in Lebanon where she received her primary education. Through her school activity, Nour Al-Hoda discovered she had a beautiful voice, to the extent that they dubbed her “Lebanon s Umm Kulthum,” with the encouragement of her father, who used to write poetry. Although she attained widespread fame in Lebanon at 17 years old, it didn t satisfy her artistic ambition. At the time, the director and actor Youssef Wahbi was visiting Beirut and one of his friends advised him to listen to this girl dubbed Lebanon s Umm Kulthum. Immediately after listening to her, he decided to take her with him on his return to Cairo along with her father Nicholas Badran. In Egypt, Wahbi provided his new discovery with all she needed to accomplish her training. It was agreed that she should change her name to Nour Al-Hoda instead of Alexandra Badran. Wahbi cast her as the leading lady in Jawhara (1943, Youssef Wahbi) and Berlanty the following year. In 1945, she was the leading lady in two films, Miss Bousa (Niazi Mostafa) and Princess of Dreams (Ahmed Galal). Yet, all these films did not satisfy her artistic ambition, which was attained the following year when she starred alongside the most famous Arab composer, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, in his last film I am not an Angel (1946, Mohamed Karim). It was an acknowledgment from the cinematic and singing fields of Nour Al-Hoda s stardom and her ability to bring success to any film she starred in. Despite the fact that Nour Al-Hoda s artistic career was very brief, acting in only 25 films, she succeeded in becoming an integral part of Egyptian musical films at the time. This was established after she became one of the most capable songstresses by participating in duets with singers and performing musical dialogues on the silver screen. This was the reason behind Nour Al-Hoda s appearance alongside big names in musical films, the first of which was Mohamed Abdel-Wahab. It was followed by pairing with Mohamed Fawzi in Glory and Tears (1946, Ahmed Badrkhan), Nargess (1948, Abdel-Fattah Hassan), Farid Al-Atrash in I want to Marry (1952, Ahmed Badrkhan) and Tell No One (1952, Henri Barakat), Abdel-Aziz Mahmoud in My Lover s Window (1951, Abbas Kamel) and Mohamed El-Kahlawi in Congratulations to You (1949, Abdel Fattah Hassan). It seemed that Nour Al-Hoda was part and parcel of a guaranteed successful commercial formula. However, this approach did not prevent Nour Al-Hoda from simultaneously acting in some important tragedy films. She starred in Betrayal and Torment (1947, Hussein Sedki) and The Avenger (1947, Salah Abu-Seif), among others. Although Nour Al-Hoda did not have exceptional acting abilities, her keenness to choose the simple, helpless girl role made her occupy a special place in the hearts of the 40s audience. In addition, she enjoyed a singing voice that had a singular stamp and suited tragedies, melodramas and light musical comedies. After Nour Al-Hoda acted in Time s Verdict (Henri Barakat) and Qaraqoush s Rule (both 1953, Fateen Abdel-Wahab), her fans were shocked when she vanished from Egypt only to appear in Lebanon, announcing that the 10 years she had spent in Cairo were enough. Rumours began to circulate that she left Egypt due to a dispute with the Tax Authority, and another rumour suggested that her father, who entered the field of film production, was restricting her artistic choices. It was reportedly said that her yearning to go back to the Cairo limelight would drive her to return to Egypt once again. However, this did not materialise. It seemed that she had retired from acting altogether and confined herself to singing on Lebanese Radio. But in 1958 she returned to act in For Whom the Sun Rises (Youssef Fahda) starring Abdel-Hamid Rushdi and Gilda. The film failed spectacularly which pushed her back into retirement. Her retirement continued for 40 years except for a transient participation in the TV series Alhambra Palace (1971). She was keen to appear on TV talk shows in Beirut and Damascus until she was unable to do so due to illness and senility. She died on 9 July 1998 at the age of 74. It is astonishing that Nour Al-Hoda achieved all this fame and immortality in only 10 years. What she presented was original and unique amid a climate that inspired proficiency and perfection.

The administration for the 51st Session of Cairo International Book fair published the transportation routes for the fair, which will open on January 22 and run until February 4. The routes include seven lines with a total of 80 buses, increasing to 100 buses on weekends. The first route starts with Abdel Moneim Riad, passes through Ramses and ends at the book fair with a total number of 15 cars. The second route starts with Abbasiya, passes through the Sixth District in Nasr City and ends at the book fair with a total number of 10 cars. The third route starts with New Nozha, passes through the Seven Buildings and ends at the book fair with a total number of 10 cars. The fourth route starts with al-Amiriya, passes through al-Mataria and ends at the book fair with a total number of 10 cars. The fifth route starts with Giza Square, passes through al-Sayeda Aisha and ends at the book fair with a total number of 15 cars. The Sixth route starts with al-Salam city, passes through Autostrad and ends at the book fair with a total number of 10 cars. The seventh route starts with al-Mazalat, passing through Hadayek al-Qoba and ends at the book fair with a total number of 10 cars. The eighth route starts with May 15th city and ends at the book fair. Prices for every ticket is six Egyptian pounds, the administration said.

With Martin Scorsese s "The Irishman expected to battle "Once Upon a Time in. Hollywood and "1917 for the best picture Oscar in February, all eyes are on the special effects team that made the sprawling crime epic possible. "The Irishman unfolds over decades, with the 76-year-old Robert De Niro and his co-stars playing their characters from their 30s into retirement age, a feat that s made the film one of 2019 s most acclaimed movies. It s all possible through new digital de-aging techniques that in the past year in cinemas have shaved decades from Samuel L. Jackson s face and turned back the clock to the 1990s for Will Smith. When Monday s Academy Award nominations are announced, "Captain Marvel and "Gemini Man could see their names called along with "The Irishman in the visual effects category. Each film has arrived at its reverse aging trick through a different technique, leading some to call 2019 a monumental year for de-aging in film. To many, "The Irishman stands out from the field, thanks to its complete avoidance of "tracking markers _ dots painted onto actors faces which allow computers to mathematically replicate facial movements and manipulate them as the director sees fit. The youthful transitions of "The Irishman are the work of Pablo Helman, visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic, who s an Oscar nominee for his work on "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and "War of the Worlds. Helman says the decision to forgo tracking markers came directly from Scorsese and De Niro. "He s not going to wear a helmet with little cameras in there, says Helman. "He s going to want to be in the moment with Joe Pesci and Al Pacino on set, with no markers on him. So, if you re going to capture the performance, how are you going to do that? Enter the "three-headed monster, a unique camera rig that has a director camera in the center and two "witness cameras on either side shooting infrared footage. That allowed Helman to eliminate shadows created by on-set lighting. The shadows could potentially interfere with the geometric facial shapes constructed by de-aging software. "You re not interrupting the director s thread of thinking, explains Helman. "You re not changing the light on set, but the computer can see in a different spectrum. While the team at Industrial Light and Magic was working on "The Irishman, another group of technical wizards were experimenting with de-aging at director Peter Jackson s Weta Workshop in New Zealand, creating an entirely digital, 23-year-old version of Smith for the action movie "Gemini Man. "Since I started visual FX 25 years ago it s been the Holy Grail, says Bill Westenhofer, one of the film s VFX supervisors. "You have that many years of expertise of looking at a human face and knowing what s wrong. So, to try and get all the different things together and get it to pull off right, that s been the challenge. To create the character of Junior _ a younger clone of Smith s assassin Henry Brogan _ the superstar wore the traditional gray tracksuit, complimented by a head rig with two cameras capturing his facial expressions via tracking markers. "We decided (on) a ground up approach to build everything from scratch _ from the skull all the way to the skin pores, all the way to the animation and the final kind of oil in the eyes was really the best approach we could take, says Stu Adcock, head of facial motion at Weta. Before filming commenced on both "Gemini Man and "The Irishman, the teams at ILM and Weta drew up test footage to show the films directors that what they were suggesting was possible. For "Gemini Man it was a clip from the 1995 movie "Bad Boys into which they inserted two shots of their new, digital Will Smith and asked Ang Lee to spot the "fake. For "The Irishman, De Niro also returned to the 1990s, performing the Pink Cadillac scene from "Goodfellas before being de-aged in post-production _ convincing an initially skeptical Scorsese that he could bring the long-gestating project to life. Helman and his team then spent two years looking through old movies and cataloging the targeted ages that De Niro, Pacino and Pesci would appear in "The Irishman. They created a program _ similar to that used to create online "deepfake videos where one actor s face is swapped for another s _ which would check their work on the movie was heading in the right direction, with the system "spewing out hundreds of images for cross-referencing. Creating Junior required Smith to spend time in a photogrammetry booth where multiple cameras captured his likeness as numerous lights fired in different sequences, giving a base scan of the actor and analyzing the structure of his face from a skin pore level. Ironically, considering Scorsese s vocal criticism of Marvel movies as "not cinema, a similar system was used to de-age Jackson in "Captain Marvel." A young Nick Fury was created by comparing footage from old Jackson movies with the work the actor did on set _ again, using tracking markers. "I looked at that face as, you know, maybe The Negotiator face, says Jackson, referring to his 1998 movie of the same name, "Fortunately for them and for me, I had enough stuff from that period in my life that they could use a bunch of different facial expressions and films to put that face together that made sense to people who knew me from that time." Darren Hendler, director of the Digital Human Group at Digital Domain and the man responsible for turning Josh Brolin into "Avengers supervillain Thanos, was impressed by Jackson s appearance in the movie. "That s more of a 2D-image based approach where they re taking the actor s performance and then they re painting and tracking certain frames. They re still using some of the actor s performance directly, but they re modifying it. It was very believable. It may not have been exactly what the young Samuel Jackson looked like, but it definitely looked de-aged. "The de-aging of Samuel L. Jackson is absolutely fantastic, agrees Weta s Guy Williams, adding, "different approaches suit different requirements. It s not a one-size-fits-all kind of situation. That s a sentiment echoed by Helman, who believes that 2019 was a watershed year for VFX. "It s not by chance that we have several movies that have motion capture performance, facial performance, in three or four different ways. That shows that we re all thinking about digital humans. "I mean, we all stand on each other s shoulders, Helman says. "I can t wait for somebody to pick this up and do something else with it, you know?

A Lebanese court has ruled to release the Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram s husband Fady al-Hashem, but are preventing him from traveling abroad pending further investigation after Hashem killed an armed robber in the couple s home on Sunday. “The Public Prosecutor in Jabl Lebanon Judge Ghada Aoun decided to release Nancy Ajram s husband Fady al-Hashem following (review of) the files and watching (tapes from) surveillance cameras…Aoun ensured that Fady was acting in self-defense (when he killed the thief),” the court said, adding that Aoun would follow up with the ongoing investigation into the case. Aoun issued on Sunday a decision to arrest the Lebanese star s husband following an exchange of fire between him and Mohamed Hassan al-Mousa, who is originally from Syria, after Mousa allegedly entered the couple s villa in New Suhaila, Keserwan district at dawn with the intention of robbing them, according to the National Information Agency. Hashem alleges that the intruder pointed a pistol in his face and asked him to leave the house, threatening to kill the family if anyone attempted to stop him. When Mousa insisted on heading to a room where the couple s daughters slept, Hashem shot him dead. Pictures spread on social media appearing to show injuries Ajram allegedly sustained during the incident, while another photo showed the Mousa s body laying in a pool of blood.