The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) has set new dates for its 42nd edition, which will be held from 2 to 10 December instead of the previously planned 19 to 28 November. According to the CIFF s press release, the date adjustment was made in order to "ensure a safer and more successful festival, [following] health procedures and measures approved by the Egyptian Government and the World Health Organisation (WHO)." The third edition of Cairo Industry Day will be held from 4 to 7 December, while the activities of Cairo Film Connection will take place from 5 to 7 December.

In June, Mwazulu Diyabanza stood in a Paris museum next to a 19th century funerary post from central Africa, and berated France for taking it and tens of thousands of other art works from its former colonies. He and an associate prised the carved wooden ornament from its stand in the Quai Branly museum as a third man live-streamed the act on social media. Diyabanza was stopped by a security guard as he made for the exit. “My mother used to tell me that when the Europeans arrived, they pillaged these artifacts, they pillaged our patrimony,” he told Reuters. “We’re in a fight to recover our (cultural) wealth.” A Congolese who has lived in France for 20 years, Diyabanza belongs to a pan-African movement that is pressing France to return those artifacts and make reparations for acts of slavery. He appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted theft. Prosecutors demanded a fine, and a verdict is due on Oct 14. Diyabanza’s case has led to renewed scrutiny of France’s history in a year in which anti-racism protests have forced developed nations to re-examine how they remember their colonial pasts. Diyabanza, who faces a second theft charge for removing an artifact from a Marseille museum and taking it to a police station, considers his actions politically justified. “Who is the real thief in this story? The thief is he who takes something fraudulently. I’m the legitimate inheritor,” he said. A huge part of Africa’s cultural heritage is on display in Europe. The Quai Branly Museum in Paris holds some 70,000 African objects, with London’s British Museum holding thousands more, French art historian Benedicte Savoy told Reuters in 2018. That year, Savoy co-authored a report with Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr recommending the widespread return of cultural artifacts removed from Africa, identifying 46,000 objects that would qualify at the Quai Branly. The museum declined to comment for this article. Also in 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron said “African heritage can’t just be in European private collections and museums”. Diyabanza wholeheartedly agrees. “People see beautiful buildings. We hear the cries of women and children,” he said. So far, however, records indicate that fewer than 30 African artifacts in French collections have been handed back.

Acclaimed Egyptian composer and pianist Omar Khairat will give a performance at the Cairo Opera House on Tuesday, October 20 at 8:30 pm. The Ministry of Culture has set up two open-air theaters at the Cairo Opera House in July to allow cultural events to resume while maintaining social distancing precautions. However, it plans to keep the Cairo Opera House’s main hall closed until further notice. Khairat’s last performance was on September 29 at Al-Manara theater’s open-air stage located in New Cairo. Khairat is the founder and conductor of the Omar Khairat Band. He was born in Cairo and raised in a family of musicians. His uncle, Abou-Bakr Khairat, is a great Egyptian composer of classical music, part of the first generation of such composers in Egypt. An architect by profession, About-Bakr Khairat studied privately in Paris and founded the Cairo Conservatoire, which is regarded as the premier music conservatory in Egypt. Omar Khairat, About-Bakr Khairat’s nephew, entered the observatory in 1959, studied piano with Italian Maestro Vincenzo Carro, and took courses in music theory and composition at Trinity College in England. Khairat, whose music is said to bridge the divide between contemporary Egyptian and Western genres, has composed a number of works, including The Magic Perfumes (1989) and Arabic Rhapsody (1992). His compositions have been featured in various movies and TV shows and he has performed at the Cairo Opera House a number of times.

The organisers of El-Gouna Film Festival (GFF) have revealed the poster for the event s 4th edition, which is scheduled to take place in October 2020 in the Red Sea resort town of El-Gouna. Following the theme The Culture of Dreams, the festival will be aligned with the opening of the new Gouna Conference and Culture Centre. According to the GFF s official press release, "the poster is inspired by the design of the Gouna Conference and Culture Centre, which features an elegant series of barrel vaults enclosing the auditorium with a shaded perimeter layer where the inside and outside merge, creating an atmosphere of transcendent inspiration." "For this edition, the visuals in the posters represent the wide spectrum of voices and talents that bring the MENA region’s dreams to life in the form of inspired artistic works." One of the youngest major festivals in Egypt, the GFF was founded by businessman Naguib Sawiris and co-founded by Amr Mansy and actress Boushra, who also serves as the event s COO. The festival s director is Intishal El-Timimi. The annual festival is held in a luxurious Red Sea resort town established by businessman Samih Sawiris. The fourth edition of the El-Gouna Film Festival, which will take place from 23 to 31 October, will hold many of its activities at outdoor venues, including the opening and closing ceremonies, amid the “challenging circumstances” of the coronavirus pandemic. To ensure social distancing, the festival will allow “less than half of the total capacity” at events inside cinemas, the festival organisers revealed. The festival will also enhance its virtual capabilities to allow greater online participation.

Having suspended its activities in March, the African Cinema Club (ACC) will resume film screenings and discussions starting Saturday 3 October at 7pm at the Artistic Creativity Centre located at the Cairo Opera grounds. The first film in the Club s line-up is the award-winning film You Will Die at Twenty by Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala, who will be present during the screening. With a script by Yousef Ibrahim, the film is set in a Sudanese village in the 1960s, where Sufi beliefs are central to the villagers’ lives, and which follows the life of young protagonist Muzamel, after a prophecy determines that he will die at the age of 20. The film won the Golden Star for Best Narrative Film at the Gouna Film Festival. The film also made headlines at the Berlin International Film Festival 2017, where it participated in the Berlinale Co-Production Market. It then won the Luigi De Laurentiis Award at the Venice Film Festival (2019). Sudanese filmmaker Abu Alala was born and raised in the UAE and studied media at the United Arab Emirates University. Abu Alala previously directed and produced a number of short films, some of which took part in film festivals, including Coffee and Orange (2004), Feathers of the Birds (2005), Tina (2009), and His Studio (2012). He is currently head of the programming committee of the Sudan Independent Film Festival. Transit Films is a Cairo-based production company established by producer Hossam Elouan, and specialises in the production of Egyptian and Arab art-house films.The film was also shown at the 9th edition of the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF), which closed on 11 March, a day ahead of schedule, with no closing ceremony due to the general shutdown of all cultural activities due to the spread of coronavirus. Prior to that, the film was screened in October at the Artistic Creativity Centre, as the ACC s activities. The African Cinema Club was launched in January 2017 in cooperation between the Luxor African Film Festival and the Cultural Development Fund. Throughout the past years, the Club has held numerous film screenings followed by discussions at the Artistic Creativity Centre. It has also expanded its activities to other locations in Cairo and Alexandria. Headed by Sayed Fouad, the Club has suspended all screenings in March. It is worth noting that African cinema has been seeing a comeback in recent decades with a visible presence in international festivals and European cinema competitions. Founded in 2012, the festival is organised by Independent Shabab Foundation, a nonprofit organisation, supported by the Egyptian ministries of Culture, Tourism, Foreign Affairs & Youth and in collaboration with Luxor Governorate. The LAFF is the only festival dedicated uniquely to the continent s films in Egypt. Apart from its regular editions, and holding the year-long Club, the festival holds numerous additional events dedicated to African cinema and the promotion of its riches and filmmakers. In October 2019, a special evening celebrating the Luxor African Film Festival was organised as part of the Panora Cinema segment of the Malmö Arab Film Festival. The evening celebrated the Egyptian festival, which, according to the MAFF organisers, "made great strides and became one of the most important festivals specialised in African cinema."

Renowned Egyptian director Khaled Galal and a large cast from the Artistic Creativity Centre will continue performing their successful play Cinema Masr at the Cairo Opera House s Hanager Open Air Theatre for three successive nights starting Monday. The play, which has seen huge success among audiences and critics, has been staged for dozens of nights since its premier last summer, with many first-class artists attending and some being honoured during the show. Cinema Masr, whose cast includes 65 students presenting on stage around 40 scenes from memorable Egyptian films in a dramatic context created by the director, is expected to show in Alexandria in October. Khaled Galal is head of the Actor s Studio, operating under the Artistic Creativity Centre, which he also manages as well as heading the Cultural Production Affairs Sector. Under Galal, during the past two decades, hundreds of actors enrolled at the studio have graduated and entered the theatre and film scene, with its most successful play being Qahwa Sada (Black Coffee), which premiered in 2008 and whose cast have become some of the most popular and active actors in Egypt. Amid strict safety measures to avoid spreading Covid-19, Egypt resumed cultural activities in July with most public events held at outdoor venues.

Bullets & Bread by Egyptian director Mohamed Hammad, produced by Kholoud Saad and Mohamed Hefzy (Film Clinic, Egypt), has been announced as one of the 12 winners of the Red Sea Lodge Award for an Arab Project. Initiated by the Red Sea International Film Festival, the Lodge offers grants in two categories: the Red Sea Lodge Award for a Saudi Project and the Red Sea Lodge Award for an Arab Project, with each category offering a total of $500,000 to six winners. According to the brief posted by the festival, "Bullets & Bread is about Youssef, a conscript serving his compulsory military service on the Egyptian eastern desert border and who dreams of becoming a writer. Awad is a dangerous bandit from one of those tribes roaming that remote desert region, who dreams of providing a better life for his family in Cairo. Their paths were not meant to cross, but a true friendship will grow between them." Mohamed Hammad is best known for Withered Green (2016), his debut feature as a director, which he also wrote. The film s world premiere was at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, where it was nominated for the Golden Leopard - Filmmakers of the Present. Withered Green won the Horus Award (Best Actress, Best Director) and 2nd Production Award at the Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema (2018); the Muhr Award for Best Director at the Dubai International Film Festival (2016); and the Golden Palm Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Mexico International Film Festival (2017). Prior to Withered Green, Hammad wrote, produced, and directed the short film Central (2008). In 2010, he produced and directed the short film Pale Red, which took part in many international festivals, receiving several awards. Hammad was chosen as a jury member at the Cairo International Film Festival (2016) and was a jury member at the Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts (2014).Among the other winners of the Red Sea Lodge for Arab Projects were Scheherazade Goes Silent, directed by Amira Diab; Inchalla A Boy, directed by Amjad Alrasheed; The Arabic Interpreter, directed by Ali Kareem; The Basement Notes, directed by Hadi Ghandour; and I Am Arzé, directed by Mira Shaib. The festival also granted six films the Red Sea Lodge Production Award for a Saudi Project. They include: Basma, written by Fatima Al-Banawi and directed by Ali Alsumayin; Practicing Polygamy, directed by Malak Qouta; Four Acts of Disruption, directed by Hussam AlHulwah; When The Star Goes Down, directed by Mohammed Salman; Sharshaf, directed by Hind Alfahhad; and Hejj to Disney, directed by Maha Al-Saati. In parallel, the jury selected director Al-Saati’s Hejj to Disney for the TIFF Filmmaker Lab talent development scheme, and for development programmes held by the Malmo Arab Film Festival (Sweden) and El-Gouna Film Festival (Egypt). Saudi director Al-Saati was chosen to participate in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association residency program in 2021. The jury choosing projects for the Red Sea Lodge: Script & Feature lab consisted of Russian producer and actress Nadia Turincev, German director, writer, and production manager Meinolf Zurhorst, and Egyptian filmmaker Yousry Nasrallah. The grants are part of the Red Sea International Film Festival, whose inaugural audition was scheduled to take place between 12 and 21 March 2020, but was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The organisers then revealed that the inaugural audition of the festival will take place in 2021.

Acclaimed Egyptian composer and pianist Omar Khairat will perform at the Al-Manara Theater on Tuesday, September 29 at 8:30 pm. The upcoming event is the third of a series of concerts that the musician is holding during September. The first two concerts took place on September 10 and 11 at the same open-air stage located in New Cairo. Khairat is the founder and conductor of the Omar Khairat Band. He was born in Cairo and raised in a family of musicians. His uncle, Abou-Bakr Khairat, is a great Egyptian composer of classical music, part of the first generation of such composers in Egypt. An architect by profession, About-Bakr Khairat studied privately in Paris and founded the Cairo Conservatoire, which is regarded as the premier music conservatory in Egypt. Omar Khairat, About-Bakr Khairat’s nephew, entered the observatory in 1959, studied piano with Italian Maestro Vincenzo Carro, and took courses in music theory and composition at Trinity College in England. Khairat, whose music is said to bridge the divide between contemporary Egyptian and Western genres, has composed a number of works, including The Magic Perfumes (1989) and Arabic Rhapsody (1992). His compositions have been featured in various movies and TV shows and he has performed at the Cairo Opera House a number of times.

Prominent Egyptian singer Angham is gearing up for a live performance in Egypt on Friday 9 October at the Open Theater of Al-Manara Center, the first after long months of absence due to the COVID-19 lockdown. "I miss you," Angham told her fans, expressing happiness to be returning to live performance, which will kick off in Jeddah on 24 September amid the Saudi Kingdom s celebrations of its National Day. Angham, who trended this month with her summer single Bahebbak W-Bartahlak, will introduce some of her memorable love songs in addition to some traditional covers at the concert, whose ticket prices vary between EGP 600 and EGP 1,500. Angham is expected to introduce a selection of her hits from her over two-dozen albums, including Omry Maak, Hala Khasa Geddan, Ya Retak Fahemny, Ben Elbenen, Albak, Baatly Nazra, Sidi Wisalak, and many other well-known hits. Born in 1972, Angham, who graduated from the Cairo Conservatory, is considered one of the best female voices in Arab music today. She launched her career alongside her well-known musician father Mohamed Ali Soliman in the late 1980s, before embarking on her own independent path.

Quirky comedy "Schitt s Creek," media family saga "Succession," and dystopian drama "Watchmen" dominated the Emmy Awards on Sunday in a show where the coronavirus pandemic meant most celebrities took part from their sofas and backyards dressed in a variety of gowns, hoodies and sleepwear. "Hello, and welcome to the PandEmmys!," said Jimmy Kimmel, opening the show, which had multiple skits and jokes about life under lockdown. HBO s "Succession," the wickedly juicy tale of a fractious media family, was named best drama series, while Jeremy Strong won best actor for his role as a downtrodden son. "Succession" also won for writing and directing. The biggest shock of the night came when former Disney Channel actress Zendaya, 24, was named best drama actress for playing a teen drug addict in HBO s "Euphoria," beating presumed favorites Laura Linney ("Ozark") and Jennifer Aniston ("The Morning Show.") Schitt s Creek," a sleeper hit on the small Pop TV network about a wealthy family that is forced to live in a rundown motel, won seven Emmys, including best comedy series and acting awards for Canadian stars Catherine O Hara, Eugene Levy, Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy. It was the first time in the Emmy Awards 72 years that a comedy won all seven categories in the same year, organizers said. HBO s alternative-reality show "Watchmen," infused with racial themes, won for best limited series, while actress Regina King won for her performance as the show s kick-ass police detective and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II took best supporting actor. "Watchmen" also won for writing. Creator Damon Lindelof dedicated the Emmy to the victims and survivors of the 1921 massacre of the Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which partly inspired the series. The coronavirus pandemic meant no red carpet and no physical audience for the show, which was broadcast live on ABC. Instead, producers sent camera kits and microphones to all the nominees, scattered in 125 places around the world, who chose how and where they wanted to be seen.

Egypt s culture ministry is launching a performance entitled Laila Fi Hob Mahmoud Reda ("A Night For the Love of Mahmoud Reda") at the Balloon Theatre, starting Sunday for one week. The performance is designed to celebrate the work of pioneer Egyptian folkloric dance icon Mahmoud Reda, founder of Egypt’s Reda Troupe, who passed away in July at the age of 89. Laila Fi Hob Mahmoud Reda is directed by Adel Abdu, accompanied with the orchestra of conductor Hisham Nabawy, will feature singers Mohamed El-Helw and Mai Farouk in Wahed Mennena ("One of Us"), a song written by Medhat El-Adl and composed by Salah El-Sharnouby. The show also include an exclusive video speech for Reda, an act by Mido Adel and a documentary by journalist Ayman El-Hakim with the night presented by Bosy Shalaby. Born in 1931, Reda, who participated as an athlete in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, founded Reda Troupe in 1959, finding wide success that led to official adoption by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture in 1961, with the troupe performing in all over the country and in many important venues abroad. Reda Troupe collaborated with numerous musicians and starred in many films like Agazet Nos Al-Sanah in 1961, directed by his brother Ali Reda, in addition to other films like Gharam fi Al-Karnak in 1967 and Harami El-Waraqa in 1970. Mahmoud Reda worked with the troupe until he retired in 1990, although he continued to supervise it artistically. Egypt resumed public culture activities in July as part of the country s cautious reopening following the Covid-19 lockdown, with all events held under strict measures that include social distancing, obligatory face masks, and sanitising.

Afrah Al-Qobba (Wedding Song), a 1981 novel by Egyptian Nobel Prize winning Naguib Mahfouz continues to attract the theatre and film directors. This polyphonic novel has been succesfully adapted for the small screen in 2016, through television series screened during Ramadan, directed by Mohamed Yassine with script by Nashwa Zayed. This time the theatre director Youssef El-Mansour offers his take of the novel with performances that took place at Cairo s Al-Ayem theater. Presented by the Youth Theatre troupe, the play has premiered in January 2020 and has returned to the stages in August. The story of Wedding Song is about the life of a troupe in a theater in the Al-Qobba neighborhood (hence Arabic of the book Afrah Al Qobba which literary means Weddings of the Qobba) neighborhood. Sarhan, the producer and owner of the fictitious theater, offers the actors a new text written by Abbas, son of the prompter, Karam Younes. The actors discover that the play they are about to perform traces their own lives on stage as it reveal their secrets, their intimate relationships and their scandals. In the play Abbas questions the deeds and morals of all members of the troup including his own parents (Halima and Younes). He even suggests that he killed his wife Taheya, the former lover of a comedian from the Tarek Ramadan troupe. In his novel Naguib Mahfouz underlines the degradation of moral values ​​in Egyptian society between 1948 and 1970. He especially denounces the policy of economic openness and nepotism under Sadat. Mahfouz s work did not recieve much success at the time of its publishing. Not only the topic was challenging for the political environment but also the work introduced a new style for the Egyptian readers whereas the same story is told, from four different points of view: the actor Tarek Ramadan, the playwright Abbas Karam Younes, the prompter Karam Younes and his wife Halima. In the TV series that aired during Ramadan four years ago, Mahfouz s story was extended, many characters have been added, offering great richness to the work, so as to allow the events to fil the 30 episodes aired throughout one month. The TV series gave new impetus to Mahfouz s text. “It was a big challenge for me to do a theatrical adaptation of this novel, especially after the success of the series. The comparison is inevitable. But I believe that this novel carries elements that are suitable for the theatrical form. The story itself takes place in a theater, so it s a privilege to present it on stage. The suspense of Taheya s death and the secrets that unfold require theatrical focus. To better satisfy the audience, it is better to present them with answers and solve the intrigue and suspense in one evening," comments Youssef El-Mansour. In fact, in the TV series several characters were developed. For example, Taheya, Tarek’s former lover and Abbas’s wife, wanted to break away from the surrounding of the reality by playing different roles on the stage. Through performing, she defies her fate, having been born in a destitute environment where debauchery reigns. In the original work, description of Taheya does not exceed a few sentences, while in the theatre she takes the lion s share of the script. She is described as a young girl who left her hometown during the war and lost her younger sister to the bombings. The director portrays her as a loving woman who gives herself entirely to her beloved, Tarek, yet due to a series of misunderstandings between the two, the couple splits up. Unlike the television series, the theatrical version opted for a compact dramatic performance based on the novel s four main characters. El-Mansour even deleted a few characters and added two others capable of adding a light comic spirit. "I wanted to keep the polyphony of the novel and I wanted to respect the main characters and their points of view," the director explains. The scenographer Amr Al-Ashraf created a rather sober entourage, yet rich in symbols. With lights stressing on chiaroscuro, the theater without curtains easily becomes the home of Karam Younes. Add to that the elaborate choreography by Monadel Antar. Instead of the narrative stories, known to the novel and the television opera, the director has developed new speeches and monologues, and through them introduced the characters transformations, moving from one state of mind to another. The actors excel at embodying these changes. Aging Karam Younes recounts his debut in the theater and his love at first sight for Halima. In one scene, he takes off his coat and moves on to another phase of his life, standing face to face with his mother, a low-level prostitute. Then he changes to the role of the deceived husband, then to that of a game leader in his house, then to that of the demanding father. Same regarding Tarek Ramadan who moves from being the lover to the jealous man, to the confused man, etc. However, this rule of adopting the many changes is not that obvious in case of the Halima and Abbas. The latter appears as a child, then as a teenager and then as a young man, each time played by a different actor. Halima is also played by two actresses: one in her youth and the other in her middle age. The play of the theater in the theater adds unique rhythm to the play. In addition, it allows the director to avoid a classic narrative approach. Halima and Karam, seated among the audience, intervene directly on stage and present their views on their son s story. An unexpected ending After presenting the different points of view, in order to solve the mystery of the death of Taheya, the director chooses a heartbreaking ending. “By juxtaposing the points of view of the characters, Naguib Mahfouz left us hungry with an open ending. He didn t want to decide: either Taheya s death was caused by typhoid, or she was killed by her husband. In the television series, everything is revealed at the end. I also wanted to answer the audience s questions and come up with a satisfying ending," the director explains. With that, the final scene in the play unveils the confession of the manipulations of all the comedians, including Sarhan, the owner of the theater, who has orchestrated many events of the troupe of Al-Qobba theatre. Through his actions, Sarhan wants to get rid of all the people who know his weaknesses, as he talks about his plot and being the only triumphant person in theatre and one who can create a new troupe.

The makers of the series “Eswed Fateh” (Light Black) announced that while the series will not be broadcasted on television until November, it will be available via MBC s Shahid online streaming platform starting September 27. Eswed Fateh was scheduled to be released during Ramadan of this year, but was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The final scenes of the show were filmed in Lebanon at the beginning of September, after both Beirut s August 4 explosion and the virus put a halt on production. Egyptian actors in the series have returned to Egypt, while director Karim al-Adl remains in Lebanon, putting finishing touches on the series before its internet debut. The storyline of the series is about a businesswoman whose life is turned upside down after her husband s betrayal. She finds herself struggling amid disloyalty and hostility from her close friends and family due to her husband s actions, prompting her to seek revenge. Eswed Fateh is starring Haifa Wehbe, Rojina, Ahmed Fahmy, and Mutasim al-Nahar. It is written by Amin Gamal and directed by Adl.

Egyptian actor Ahmed Helmy revealed on Monday that he will be starring in a new film and a series set to release during Ramadan 2021. Both projects are still undergoing preparations, stated Helmy during an interview with TV host Issad Younes on the “Sahibat al-Saada” program. Helmy previously played a role in director Adel Sadiq’s 1993 Ramadan series “Nas Wlad Nas” (Decent People), but this will be the first series in which he will play the lead role. Helmy, who is known for his quick-witted comedy, has appeared in over 20 movies throughout his acting career. His latest film, “Khayal Maata” (Scarecrow), was a huge box office success. Helmy also serves as Egypt’s Ambassador to the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed as a hero in a Hollywood movie about Rwanda s 1994 genocide, declined to plead on Monday to all the 13 charges facing him, demanding he be allowed to plead to each separate count in a case that has also thrust a spotlight on to President Paul Kagame s government. Rusesabagina, who once called for armed resistance to the government in a YouTube video, appeared in a Kigali court accused of terrorism, complicity in murder and forming or joining an irregular armed group, among other charges. His trial promises to be the most high-profile yet in a string of cases against Kagame s opponents. Brought to court handcuffed in a van inscribed "RIB" for Rwanda Investigation Bureau, the 66-year-old Rusesabagina wore a tan suit and an anti-coronavirus mask. He sat pensively before responding. He told the court that he had contributed 20,000 euros ($24,000) to the National Liberation Front (FLN), the military wing of the Mouvement Rwandais pour le Changement Démocratique, which he co-chairs. "FLN killed people," he acknowledged. "If there are bad acts that were done against the people, I regret that and I ask forgiveness to the families of victims." Rusesabagina refused to enter a plea for any of the charges. He was due to appear again on Thursday to apply for bail. HOLLYWOOD MOVIE The Oscar-nominated film "Hotel Rwanda" portrayed Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager, using his connections with the Hutu elite to protect Tutsis fleeing the slaughter. After the genocide, Rusesabagina acquired Belgian citizenship and became resident of the United States. He became a vocal critic of Kagame, whom he accused of stifling opposition, an accusation the government denies. Rusesabagina has not been allowed to meet lawyers appointed by his family, they said in a statement. But one of his government-appointed lawyers, David Rugaza, argued he was on trial for exercising freedom of speech. "He got a Belgian citizenship in 1999," Rugaza told the one-judge hearing. "Rwanda is trying a foreign citizen (for) freedom of expression that he enjoyed while abroad." Some in Rwanda, including Kagame, have accused Rusesabagina of exaggerating his heroism, which he denies. It is still unclear how Rusesabagina came to be in Rwanda. His family say he was disappeared from Dubai. The court struck out a defence objection that the arrest was irregular, ruling that it had jurisdiction because Rusesabagina was arrested in Rwandan territory, without providing further details. JUSTICE SYSTEM UNDER SCRUTINY Kagame has ruled Rwanda since the end of the genocide and won the last elections - in 2017 - with nearly 99% of the vote. He has enjoyed widespread credit and support from Western donors for restoring Rwanda to stability, cracking down on corruption and boosting economic growth in the East African nation of 12 million. But international rights groups and political opponents say his rule is increasingly tainted by repression. "Kagame and other government officials regularly threaten those who criticize the government," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a briefing note, adding that the judiciary lacked independence and torture of prisoners was common. The government denies accusations of torture of detainees. Tibor Nagy, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, tweeted earlier this month that the United States wanted to see Rusesabagina receive a "fair trial". Michaela Wrong, a British author researching a book about Rwandan politics, said the trial was already putting the Kagame government under greater scrutiny. "The Rwandan government s traditional supporters may well start asking themselves why so many opposition activists disappear and meet violent ends in Rwanda, why so many human rights activists and journalists flee abroad," she said.

Egyptian YouTubers Ahmed Hassan and his wife Zeinab received a firestorm of criticism after uploading a video of them pranking their infant daughter Eileen and laughing as she cried. The prank involved Zeinab painting her face black and creeping up on her daughter as she slept, causing the little girl to scream and cry at her mother’s unfamiliar appearance. Upon uploading the video to social media, the couple was met with outrage and were accused of exploiting their child and her misery for fame. One Facebook user announced that they had submitted a complaint against Ahmed and Zeinab to the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood. “A report to a child rights association and a report to any responsible authority: Save this innocent child from this psychologically-ill family,” the user wrote. The vlogging couple, who have over five million subscribers on YouTube alone, have repeatedly come under severe criticism for involving their young daughter in potentially traumatizing pranks. “It’s unbelievable that the insane quest for money, interaction, and fame has prompted a mother and a father to humiliate their girl in such a way. It’s not their first time. A child rights association has fined them LE200,000 before. Save the child and enough psychopaths,” the Facebook user continued.

On 11 September and following 10 days of theatrical events, plays, online seminars and discussions, the activities of the 27th edition of the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre closed with an official ceremony held at the National Theatre. The closing evening opened with a performance titled Thoth, directed by Sameh Basyouni and staged by the students and graduates of the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts. The show was followed by the announcement of winners and the distribution of the awards in the presence of culture minister Ines Abdel-Dayem and the festival’s president Alaa Abd El-Aziz Sulaiman, a renowned theatre practitioner and academic. It is important to underscore that the festival saw light despite the previous ministerial plans to cancel this year s edition, motivating the move with inability of creating an event that would bring justice to the festival’s long and rich history. A different edition during Covid-19 The festival was eventually launched on 1 September, naturally refrained by many limitations due to Covid-19 pandemic: the inability to invite international theatre-makers and staging local performances to a limited number of audience. The edition, however, was enriched by some long-term strategical moves. At these unusual times, Sulaiman created a unique version of the festival where the plays (Arab and international in addition to one from Egypt) were screened online participating in competitive segments. The Egyptian plays performed across Cairo theatres got their own competition and awards, the first time in the festival s history. Not only did Sulaiman’s managerial strategies and organisational tweaks aim at rescuing the festival’s 27th edition, but he wanted to bring this edition a step closer to the older editions of the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre (CIFET). Founded in 1988 by then-culture minister Farouk Hosni, the festival was known as the CIFET and carried a competitive character. Following the interruption caused by the January 2011 Revolution and after a five-year hiatus, the festival returned in 2016 with its 23rd edition, a new name -- the Cairo International Festival for Experimental and Contemporary Theatre (CIFCET) -- and a non-competitive character. In the 27th edition Sulaiman returned the original name of the festival and its competitive character. Two new segments stood out: Recorded Performances and Lockdown Performances, which included shows screened online. In such circumstances – online screenings of international plays, limited number of audience in Cairo theatres, restrictions and social distancing requirements – the CIFET’s 27th edition was naturally different. It was not hard to notice that the usual sparkle that comes with such events was somehow missing, something that some audience members and critics rightfully pointed to. Lack of the festive character, the buzz that comes with theatre artists and their audiences, discussions at theatres and hotel lobbies, alongside other elements that characterise any cultural festival, could not be held owing to the pandemic. This atypical situation disappointed theatre-makers, audiences and critics, and this is probably the reason that the festival felt the need (alas, unnecessary) for self-justification expressed through the performance staged during the closing ceremony.From justification to overly direct images Titled Thoth, the closing performance was written by Mohamed Mabrouk and consisted of three segments with only the last one relating to the play’s name, the ancient Egyptian god of writing and learning presented quite briefly on stage. Side note: Thoth is the statuette for CIFET’s major awards. The first scene presented a group of young people trying to explain to a media representative the festival’s details, its segments, awards, etc. “It is an unusual edition, it is an unusual edition,” were the statements repeated to the media lady whose excessively energetic attitude challenged the aesthetics of her presentation of the role. Unless we are addressing a very young and inexperienced audience, there was no need to capitalise on repetitive explanations about the festival’s positioning this year. With the exaggerated self-explanations, not only does the script underestimate the valued audience’s understanding of the festival under Covid-19 realities, but it also puts one of the oldest Egyptian festivals – and the pride of many theatre-makers – in a position of need to justify itself. The second part of the performance used the metatheatre technique by introducing the playwright seated on the balcony expressing his disappointment about the events on the stage which do not represent the play he actually wrote. To make the situation more comic, Mabrouk added the playwright’s mother whose role on the same balcony is to fight with him over some unimportant issues. The metatheatre or metadrama is always an attractive segment of a theatrical work and it is probably this segment that had a clear idea and mise-en-scene work present during the closing evening. Scene three saw the appearance of Thoth that is walked through a sequence of dances representing different countries and cultures. The scenography by Mohamed Saad (the backdrop of a world map divided to shed light on six continents) and costumes by Ahmed Abd El Aziz (with continents drawn on the backs of jackets) provided direct explanation to each dance presented. While we were treated to the simple, yet well-designed choreography by Karima Bedeir following each culture with movement, the scenography and costumes left little room for the audience’s reflections or imagination.Special times call for special thoughts Pulling an exceptional or an unusual edition and convincing the audience of the festival’s values is definitely a big task. However, the ending ceremony is a work that should not be affected by the unusual organisational situation. While in Thoth the efforts of the students and graduates of the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts were evident, there was still space for more thought on the part of the playwright and time needed for the director to work with the actors. The imperfections in gags and slapsticks intertwined with overly direct messages made it harder for the performance to level with the important event s closing work. Once the performance ended, the culture minister and festival’s president took the stage and the announcement of the winners began. This is the most important segment in any national or international festival. With Abdel-Dayem and Sulaiman giving the proper weight to the moment, the greatest disappointment came with the presentation of awards for the Recorded Performances and Lockdown Performances. The unusual circumstances of the festival cannot explain the awards presenter Nesma Youssef Idris stepping unprepared on the stage, trying to find her way between the papers and trying not to mix up the winners, and at times finding it hard to formulate well-structured sentences. Putting the drawbacks aside, it s time to focus on the positive efforts exerted at the festival which was destined to meet the fate of its international peers that were cancelled. The festivals that survived cancellation had to either move their activities online, or limit the audience and the number of actual events on the ground. In such unusual circumstances, the usual understanding of the festival or a festive atmosphere can be taken with a degree of tolerance. A day after the festival’s closing, when the plays are no longer available online or in theatres, we emerge with many reflections as we are enriched with a good number of theatrical experiences that would have never seen the light hadn’t it been for CIFET’s 27th edition. And when one year from now, we attend the 28th festival, we will have its original name and competitive character already established – this in itself is a win. Check all the winers of the 27th edition of the festival here.

Influenza season is about to start in many Eastern Mediterranean countries, which may lead to an increase in cases of COVID-19 worldwide, according to a statement from the World Health Organization Regional Director, Ahmed al-Mandhari. He added that the number of coronavirus cases in the region exceeded two million this week. To reduce the risk of transmission in the coming weeks and months, individuals and societies must continue implementing preventive measures, especially in schools, areas where social gatherings are common, and public events, noted Mandhari. He pointed out that wearing masks is one of the most effective means to protect ourselves and others when social distancing is not possible. The director stated that “Countries must scale up existing public health measures, with a focus on testing, isolation and treatment of patients, protection of health workers, and contact tracing.” He additionally suggested countries set up targeted lockdowns to prevent social gatherings in hotspots, areas that are witnessing a significant rise in transmission. In the coming weeks, the World Health Organization will work with countries in the region to provide guidance through conducting intra-action reviews, a powerful tool used by the organization to improve the pandemic protocol of a country. Mandhari claimed that the review process will allow countries to periodically evaluate their national and subnational response to COVID-19, and identify areas requiring immediate action for sustainable improvements. The director ended his statement affirming that although much has been done in the region to prevent the spread of the virus, additional work still lies ahead.

Drug giant AstraZeneca said Tuesday it had paused global trials of its coronavirus vaccine because of an unexplained illness in one of the volunteers. It’s a standard precaution in vaccine trials that is meant to ensure experimental vaccines don’t cause serious reactions among participants. “As part of the ongoing randomized, controlled global trials of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, our standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow the review of safety data,” the company said in a statement sent to CNN. The company is testing its vaccine, called the Oxford vaccine because it was developed with the Britain’s University of Oxford, in the United States as well as the UK, Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa. “This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials,” the statement added. “In large trials, illnesses will happen by chance but must be independently reviewed to check this carefully. We are working to expedite the review of the single event to minimize any potential impact on the trial timeline. We are committed to the safety of our participants and the highest standards of conduct in our trials.” Earlier Tuesday, AstraZeneca joined eight other companies in signing a pledge promising they would not seek premature government approval for any coronavirus vaccine. They promised they would wait until they had adequate data showing any potential vaccine worked safely. “We, the undersigned biopharmaceutical companies, want to make clear our on-going commitment to developing and testing potential vaccines for COVID-19 in accordance with high ethical standards and sound scientific principles,” the statement read. It was signed by the CEOs of AstraZeneca, BioNTech GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer and Sanofi. “We believe this pledge will help ensure public confidence in the rigorous scientific and regulatory process by which COVID-19 vaccines are evaluated and may ultimately be approved,” they added. The AstraZeneca vaccine is one of three coronavirus vaccines in late-stage, Phase 3 trials in the US. A Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) usually monitors trials for adverse events and can order a pause or halt a trial, but AstraZeneca did not say who had stopped the trial. Common adverse events in vaccine trials include fever, headache, soreness at the injection site and muscle pain. Regulators and companies alike have been working to ensure people trust in the vaccine authorization process. The US Food and Drug Administration must give either emergency use authorization or full approval to any vaccine before it can be distributed in the US. President Trump has said repeatedly he thinks at least one of the vaccines could be ready before Election Day on November 3. Most groups working on the vaccine say that is extremely unlikely but Biontech CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin told CNN earlier Tuesday he believes the vaccine his company is developing with Pfizer could be ready for regulatory approval by mid-October. Dr. Tony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said it’s technically possible that if a DSMB saw strong evidence a vaccine was working before a trial was completed, it could recommend a halt to the trial so more people could get the vaccine. But Fauci said this was unlikely to happen before December. However, discussions about early authorizations and reports about White House pressure to speed along a vaccine have worried the public, as well as former FDA officials. Former FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf told CNN last week he was concerned even before Covid-19 that Trump would pressure the FDA to make decisions he wanted. “One of the things that have had me on pins and needles the last four years is literally Trump could do this with any drug or device or vaccine anytime he wants to,” said Califf, who was commissioner from January 2016 through January 2018. Fauci and FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn have said they would not cave into political interference.

Roderick MacKay had to get government approval to leave Australia, spent two weeks in preventive coronavirus quarantine in Rome and will be locked up in a hotel back in Australia for another two weeks upon his return. But the 33-year-old director says it s a small price to pay to get his first feature film, The Furnace, to the Venice Film Festival _ especially after it took six years to make. The Furnace explores a forgotten aspect of the 19th century west Australian gold rush, when Muslim and Sikh camel handlers from India, Afghanistan and Persia _ Iran s former name _ were brought in by the British colonizers to help open up the Outback, many essentially working as indentured laborers. The Furnace follows the story of a young Afghan cameleer played by Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek, who is led astray from his friendship with local Aboriginal people by a shifty gold prospector. "It s shining a light on a little known chapter of our history and representing community groups who have not really been represented in Australia s history, MacKay told The Associated Press. "And so I think on the basis of that, that was really the thing that compelled me to come here and do my bit to represent the film. That was no easy feat given the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown of MacKay s hometown of Perth, in western Australia, as well as Italy s restrictions on travelers coming from outside Europe. MacKay had to get federal government approval to leave the country, and successfully made the case that "The Furnace was the only Australian official selection at Venice, where it is screening in the Horizons section for new talent. "It turns out, we re kind of representing the country, he said. "So luckily, or thankfully, they considered that to be a worthy enough cause. Upon arrival in Italy, MacKay quarantined at a Rome apartment for two weeks, people-watching from the rooftop terrace, preparing for the festival and watching movies, including Ridley Scott s "Gladiator to "get in the vibe, in the zone of Rome. Now at Venice, he is overwhelmed: MacKay had only previously made two short films before "The Furnace, which he conceived of when researching the western Australian gold rush in 2014. "It s taken me six years to get this project off the ground. So a month in quarantine, really in the scheme of things, is kind of a small blip in the time that I ve taken from my life to realize this project, he said. After Venice, he retraces his steps back to Perth, where a government-appointed hotel quarantine awaits him. "Not ideal, but we understand that it s necessary in these times, he said. "And hey, perhaps it ll be a nice sort of two-week window to just process everything that we ve been up to here in this extraordinary time. The Furnace, who caught a big attention since its premier on Friday, is Malek s first collaboration with an international production. The Venice International Film Festival is taking place between 2 and 12 September.

Yesterday, the theatre community celebrated Egypt s National Day of Theatre with a performance staged at the Cairo s National Theatre and directed by Nasser Abdel-Moneim. This year, the event joined a number of celebrations and commemorations. To Egypt s theatrical community, it also triggered many retrospective thoughts: sorrows linked to the month of September and pride marking the year 2020, the centenary of Cairo s National Theatre. Let us begin with the tragic date of 5 September, when in 2005 a large fire erupted in the Beni Suef Cultural Palace claiming over 50 lives and injuring dozens. In fact, the number of victims remains debatable, as many point to the fact that dozens of artists passed away weeks and months after the incident due to the long-term injuries and deteriorating health caused by smoke and fire. The Beni Suef fire erupted during a performance of The Zoo Story, a one-act play by Edward Albee, staged during the Amateur Theatre Festival. In 2011, the then-minister of culture Emad Abu Ghazi declared 5 September as Egypt s National Day of Theatre, a date which also falls within the days of the annual Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre (taking place in the first 10 days of September).Curiously, this was not the only fire that threatened the Egyptian theatre. In September 2008, a fire damaged large segments of the Cairo National Theatre. Though the incident did not claim lives, it destroyed huge parts of the decorations and architectural components, forcing the theatre to close its doors to the public for over six years. However, the year 2020 also marks the National Theatre s centenary. The beautiful edifice surrounded by a busy square and roads of Cairo s downtown was officially founded by Egyptian national entrepreneur Talaat Harb in 1920. However, the history of the building and area goes much further back in time. Erected in the area of Al-Azbakiya Gardens, the semi-theatrical structures surrounded by palaces and a lake aimed at first to provide entertainment for the Mamelouke rulers. During Napoleon Bonaparte s expedition to Egypt (1798-1801), the site became a location for French troops to enjoy some theatrical shows. It was in 1885 that the first Egyptian troupe performed in the location that was already known as Al-Azbakiya theatre.The first official National Egyptian Theatre Troupe was founded in 1935, but it was disbanded only seven years later due to staging anti-British performances. Following the 1952 Revolution, the Al-Azbakiya Theatre became the National Theatre, becoming home to the Egyptian National Group and the Modern Egyptian Theatre Group. Many renowned Egyptian actors stood on the stages of the National Theatre, presenting numerous works by known playwrights such as Alfred Farag, Lotfi Al-Kholi, Noaman Ashour, Youssef Idris, among others. The theatre has big significance with unique architecture adorned by Islamic and Arab ornaments, and in 2000 it was put on Egypt’s Heritage List. Today s edifice consists of two auditoriums. The large hall with a row of balconies bears the name of the Lebanese actor George Abyad, while the smaller hall is named after the renowned Egyptian actor and director Abdel-Rehim Al-Zorkani. The 5 September celebration, which took place at the National Theatre s stage, brought many artists and ministry officials to the theatre s halls.A performance written by Mostafa Selim and directed by Nasser Abdel-Moneim walked the viewers through the different eras of the Egyptian theatre s history. During the same event, Culture Minister Ines Abdel-Dayem honored nine theatre personalities including the late critic Ali Al-Ra i (represented by his son Ahmed), late writer Mohsen Moselhy (represented by his widow), late scenographer Hussein El-Ezaby (represented by his son Mohamed), late director and Egypt s father of folkloric arts Abdel-Rahman (represented by his son Ahmed), theatre directors Hamdy Tolba, Fahmy El-Khouly, director Hussein Mahmoud (represented by his brother), artist Raja Hussein and theatre director Khaled Galal. The celebrations come within the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre, an annual event which in its 27th edition is presided over by Alaa Abdel-Aziz Suleiman. Due to the current unusual circumstances, the festival is presenting a limited number of the Egyptian plays in theatres, while Arab and international plays are shown online. The 27th CIFET opened on 1 September and continues until 11 September.