NEW YORK (AP) — In their driveways or in their bedrooms, using little cardboard boxes or piles of backyard dirt, young fans of “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman paid their respects with lots of Wakanda salutes and mock funerals attended by action figures. Soon after the shocking news of Boseman’s death Friday at age 43, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles began posting photos of funerals staged by kids for King T’Challa, the actor’s lead character from the Marvel blockbuster. Some of those posts have been shared thousands of times amid an outpouring of grief from admirers of all ages who were unaware he had been battling colon cancer for four years. Other young fans mourned in more private ways, watching “Black Panther” and “42” for the umpteenth time with their families in Boseman’s honor. To many kids, his passing was a life event, driven by the change-makers he portrayed but also by his heartfelt comments in awards speeches and interviews about the need for more opportunities for people of color. Boseman’s King T’Challa, ruler of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, was introduced in 2016′s “Captain America: Civil War.” His “Wakanda Forever” salute reverberated around the world after the release of “Black Panther” two years ago. The actor’s turn as baseball great Jackie Robinson in “42” came out in 2013 and is now being discovered by younger fans. Nick Cummings, 11, of Louisville, Kentucky, loves both films. He stumbled on word of Boseman’s death on TikTok, before his mother had broken the news. “At first when I heard it I didn’t believe it,” he said Monday. “I felt like a part of me got erased.” A little too old for action figure funerals, Nick, who is Black, donned his baseball jersey emblazoned with Robinson’s “42” and had no plans to take it off any time soon. Twins Lenny and Bobby Homes in Mesa, Arizona, are 10. Their mom, Annalie, had no intention of telling the boys, who are Filipino American, about Boseman’s death, but they found out on their own Sunday on YouTube. They went the funeral route, using a black car seat for their prone Black Panther. Dad David Homes is a big Marvel enthusiast. He began schooling his sons in both the comics and films when they were little. How many times have they seen “Black Panther”? “A lot!” the two chimed in unison. Of Boseman’s death, Lenny said: “We were really sad. He was one of our favorite actors. When we heard, we were like, the Panther needs a funeral. He was a good king. He was very nice and kind, and he followed the rules.” Annalie said she wanted to shield the boys from the news because they lost a grandfather less than a month ago. The twins have more than 100 action figures and their own YouTube channel. They gathered up 13 of their favorite characters for the funeral Sunday, including Thor, Black Widow, Rocket Raccoon, Hulk and Spider-Man. The toys’ arms can’t bend into the Wakanda salute, so the boys arranged them with arms extended, reaching out to T’Challa. Djoser Burruss, 12, of San Diego took the news hard. One of his grandmothers died of the same type of cancer. Djoser, who is African American, posted a tribute to Boseman on Instagram: “R.I.P. Chadwick Boseman, the one and only Black Panther. We mourn your passing but you will forever live in our hearts. Thank you for showing us what KINGs do.” In an interview Tuesday, Djoser added: “I saw it on my phone and I was devastated. We kind of owe it to ourselves to be better every day because not every day is guaranteed, just like Chadwick, but he did so much in those four years.” His mother, Christina, said the family rewatched “Black Panther” last weekend, along with videos of Boseman speaking out on behalf of Black people to “soak up all of his energy and his wisdom.” Gavyn Batiste, 7, in Lafayette, Louisiana, has seen “Black Panther” a half dozen times. He invited Captain America, Thor and Hulk, among other Avengers, to the funeral he held. He also wrote a song for T’Challa that goes like this: “Black Panther is gone. I don’t know what to say. I never thought this would happen in my day. This is sad. I am mad. I don’t know how to feel. It still feels unreal. Wakanda Forever!” Sonya Antoine, Gavyn’s mom, said the film offers Black children a “sense of hope, a sense of dreaming, and to just embrace who you are in your culture and what that culture can mean to you and your family.” Nick’s mother, Deedee Cummings, writes children’s books with diverse characters and knows how rare it is to find afrocentric fare for children like the futuristic world in “Black Panther.” She recalled how happy her son was to see the film in a theater with a neighbor when it first came out. Both wore Wakanda gear. The family watched the movie again on TV after Boseman’s death. Nick sat solemnly this time around. “He never sits still,” Deedee said. “This time he did.” Deedee thinks parents shouldn’t keep the news of Boseman’s death from their young kids. “It’s so important to acknowledge this loss to children, especially Black children,” she said. Susan Nicholas in Atlanta also writes for children. Her book, “The Death of Cupcake,” is out in November and focuses on grief among kids. Boseman’s death, she said, may be difficult for parents to discuss because they’re reluctant to burst the larger-than-life bubble created in movies. “But kids actually have insights that are quite profound,” she said. “We can all elevate our perspectives around death to really heal from that. At the end of the day, those are human beings in those costumes and they succumb to death, too, even if Hollywood doesn’t allow them to die.” By LEANNE ITALIE Image: This combination photo shows, from left, Gavyn Batiste, 7, dressed as Black Panther and surrounded by action figures in Lafayette, La. on Aug. 31, 2020, actor Chadwick Boseman in character as T’Challa in “Black Panther” and 10-year old twins Lenny, left, and Bobby Homes paying tribute to Boseman at their home in in Mesa, Ariz. on Aug. 31, 2020. Boseman died of colon cancer on Friday, Aug. 28 at age 43. (Takiyah Dupas, Marvel Studios, Annalie Homes via AP)

Prince Harry and his wife Megan Markle have signed an agreement with streaming giant Netflix to produce various programs. “Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope,” said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, adding: “As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us.” “We’re incredibly proud they have chosen Netflix as their creative home,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement commenting on the move. The contract, which will last for several years, includes the production of documentaries, feature films and children’s programs according to the BBC, which added that the agreement comes six months after the couple withdrew from their royal duties and moved to California to escape media attention. “Our lives, both independent of each other, and as a couple have allowed us to understand the power of the human spirit: of courage, resilience, and the need for connection” the couple said in a statement. “Through our work with diverse communities and their environments, to shining a light on people and causes around the world, our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope.” The couple added that they were happy to work with Netflix and believed that its unprecedented reach will enable them to present influential content that pushes action. Sarandos said that Netflix is ​excited to work with the couple to create content able to raise understanding among audiences globally. Among the projects under development include a nature documentary series with a creative spin and an animated series celebrating inspiring women, the Deadline website reported. The couple will present their production to Netflix through a company whose name has not yet been identified. Prince Harry currently appears in a a documentary available on Netflix called “Rising Phoenix” about the Paralympics, while Meghan previously worked with Disney to narrate a documentary called “Elephant”. The announcement of the agreement with Netflix comes after the publication of the book “Finding Freedom”, about the couple’s life within the royal family. The couple’s spokesperson said that they have not made any statements about the book, which discusses the escalation of tension between them and the rest of the family.

Can I use a face shield instead of a mask? No. Health officials don t recommend the clear plastic barriers as a substitute for masks because of the lack of research on whether they keep an infected person from spreading viral droplets to others. However, those who want extra protection may want to wear a face shield in addition to a mask. Face shields have the added benefit of protecting your eyes and discouraging you from touching your face by acting as a physical barrier, says Christopher Sulmonte, project administrator of the biocontainment unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital. More Viral Questions: – Does a face mask protect me, or just the people around me? – Can mosquitoes spread the coronavirus? – How will office life be different in a pandemic? Meanwhile, the available research so far indicates that the best face shields for preventing viral spread are hooded or wrap around the sides and bottom of the face, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That s because those shields leave less space for droplets from sneezing, coughing and talking to escape. If you do wear a reusable face shield in addition to a mask, the CDC notes the importance of cleaning it after each use. The agency also says you should wash your hands before and after taking it off, and avoid touching your face while removing it.

Egyptian singer Hanan Mady and Sout Masr ("Sound of Egypt") Orchestra, conducted by Ahmed Atef, will give a concert on Tuesday. The concert will introduce a selection of famous Egyptian TV theme songs. Mady, who is known for her TV theme songs from the 1990s, will also perform some of her hits at the Fountain Theatre of the Cairo Opera House. Mady made her debut singing along Ali El-Haggar the well-known theme song of the TV series El-Leqaa El-Thany, and then went on to record the theme for the El-Mal Wal-Banoun series. Making a few new singles in recent years, including a duet with El-Haggar, Mady released four successful albums throughout her career, featuring popular tracks like Leilet Eshq, El-Bahr, Sheddy El-Dafayer, Asfour and Kan Wa-Kan. Cultural events and activities in Egypt resumed in July as part of the country s gradual reopening after the COVID-19 shutdown. All events are being held under strict measures that include social distancing, wearing face masks, and sanitisation. The recently founded open-air Opera arena, Fountain Theatre, is hosting a few music activities in September including three concerts for Omar Khairat.

Renowned Egyptian pianist and composer Omar Khairat and his orchestra will return to the Cairo Opera House to give three concerts in September at the Fountain Theatre after months of absence due to pandemic. The concerts, scheduled for two successive nights on Thursday 10 and Friday 11, weeks before the third is held on Tuesday 29 September, are expected to witness a selection of Omar Khairat s famous repertoire. One of the most popular contemporary composers in the region, Khairat has produced scores for over 50 Egyptian films, including The Sixth Day (1984), The Terrorist (1993), Mafia (2002), Girl s Love (2003), The Embassy in the Building (2005), Deer s Blood (2006) and 2019 s patriotic hit Al-Mammar (The Passage). In television, his memorable works include Lailat El-Qabd Ala Fatma (1984) and Dameer Abla Hekmat (1991). Khairat also composed music for theatre and special ceremonies, such as the opening of important Egyptian and regional cultural festivals. Khairat has also arranged compositions by iconic Egyptian musician Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, releasing them in Wahabiat 1 and 2 albums, in addition to arrangements for Oum Kalthoum’s songs. Cultural events and activities in Egypt were resumed last month as part of phase one of the country s reopening after the COVID-19 shutdown. All events are being held under strict measures that include social distancing, obligatory masks, and sanitisation. Programme: Thursday 10, Friday 11 and Tuesday 29 September, 8:30 Fountain Theater, Cairo Opera House

The upcoming edition of the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre will be dedicated to the late Egyptian theatre director, actor and academic who passed away earlier this month. Born on 25 January 1943 in a small village in Assiut governorate in Upper Egypt, Sanaa Shafaa moved to Cairo with his mother and father, who was an Al-Azhar scholar, at the age of eight. Shafaa attended Al-Gamaliya primary school, where he expressed interest in the arts for the first time, joining amateur acting troupes. He then went on to study acting at the High Institute of Theatrical Arts, where he later on worked as a professor and became dean of the department. In parallel with his academic work, Shafaa directed theatre plays, and one of his first famous works was Don Quixote, staged in 1975. To the wider audience, Shafaa was known for his many roles in television series, radio programmes and appearances in film since the 1980s. His latest appearances were in television series Al-Qamar Akher Al-Dunya (2020), Khat Sakhin (2020), Lyalina 80 (2020), Abu Gabal (2019), Bahr (2019), among dozens of others. The Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre will run between 1 and 11 September online and in theaters, with an opening ceremony to take place at Cairo s National Theatre.

Egyptian screenwriter Wahid Hamed will receive a Golden Pyramid Award for lifetime achievement in the cinema field during the opening ceremony of the 42nd edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), scheduled to take place between 19 and 28 November with Mohamed Hefzy as CIFF president. Hamed is among the most renowned Egyptian screenwriters, with over 40 films and 30 television series to his name. Born in 1944, Hamed began his writing career in the late 1960s after completing a university degree in sociology. The film ‘Dreams of the Fly Boy’ (1978) started his long-time collaboration with actor Adel Imam, and is considered his breakthrough script. The pair went on to work together on several modern classics, including Al-Ghoul (1983), El-Le’eb Maa El-Kobar (1991), Al-Erhab wel Kabab (1992), Toyour El-Zalam (1995), and the screenplay for the critically acclaimed ‘The Yacoubian Building’ (2006), which Hamed’s son, Marwan Hamed, directed. Hamed has also worked alongside many esteemed Egyptian directors, including Yousry Nasrallah, Atef El-Tayeb and Sherif Arafa, among others. Some of his more recent works include the films Ehky ya Scheherazade (2009) and Ot W Far (2015), as well as the television series Al-Gamaa (The Brotherhood) (2010) and Return of Al-Gamaa (2017). Hamed often had to overcome obstacles to see his work reach the silver screen, because of the daring and controversial themes his writing covered. “Written in the mid-80s, the touching and renowned drama Al-Baree (1997) faced a lengthy censorship battle due to its controversial political messages. It was not released until 19 years after production, and only after the ending was changed,” the CIFF press release announcing the award says. Hamed later went on to establish his own production company, Wahid Hamed Film Productions, to help bring his and others’ work to cinema and television. Hamed has received numerous awards in Egypt and internationally. In 2017, he was awarded the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) Arab Lifetime Achievement Award.

The organizers of the Berlin International Film Festival say they will stop awarding separate acting prizes to women and men beginning next year. Berlinale organizers said Monday the performance awards will be defined in a gender-neutral way at next year s festival, for which a physical event is planned. The festival awards a Golden Bear for the best film and a series of Silver Bears, which until this year included best actor and best actress honors. Organizers said those prizes will be replaced with a Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance and a Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance. In a statement, the co-heads of the festival, Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, said ``not separating the awards in the acting field according to gender comprises a signal for a more gender-sensitive awareness in the film industry. At the same time, the Alfred Bauer Prize, which is named after the festival s founding director, will be permanently retired. The prize was suspended this year due to revelations about Bauer s role in the Nazis moviemaking bureaucracy. Commenting on the decision to hold a physical event next year, despite uncertainties due to the coronavirus pandemic, the two directors stressed the need for a "lively relationship with the audience. "In times of the corona pandemic, it has become even clearer that we still require analogue experience spaces in the cultural realm, they said, noting that other festivals have also resumed holding physical rather than virtual events. The 2021 festival is scheduled for Feb. 11-21. This year s festival was one of the last major events that took place before the coronavirus pandemic largely shut down public life in Germany.

Renowned Egyptian singer Ali El-Haggar will perform this Thursday in Alexandria as part of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Art Centre s 18th International Summer Festival. El-Haggar, 66, who has released new singles and online concerts recently, will be singing some of his famous TV series themes and most memorable hits. El-Haggar 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. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina s 18th Summer Festival, dedicated to late Egyptian folk-dance icon Mahmoud Reda, is seeing a variety of various art forms, with the remaining music events including concerts by Andromida (25), Nouran AbuTaleb (26) and Mostafa Awar (29) on the last day of the festival. Cultural events and activities in Egypt were resumed last month as part of phase one of the country s reopening after the COVID-19 shutdowns. All events are being held under strict measures that include social distancing, obligatory masks, and sanitisation.

Two decades of Maya Husseini’s work to restore stained glass windows destroyed in the Lebanese civil war was lost in an instant in the seismic port explosion in Beirut. “I can say that in this blast, 20 years of my professional life was on the ground,” said Husseini, 60, who has worked on historic landmarks including many of Beirut’s churches. “Part of me has gone.” The Aug. 4 detonation of a massive quantity of explosive chemicals stored unsafely at Beirut port killed at least 178 people, injured some 6,000 and damaged buildings across a swathe of Beirut, carpeting streets in broken glass. Damaged buildings included the Sursock Museum, a modern and contemporary art museum reopened in 2015, whose vibrant stained glass had been painstakingly restored by Husseini. Its windows, which were particularly eye-catching at night when they were illuminated, were blown out by the blast. At least 10 of the projects Husseini has worked on since the 1975-90 civil war have been destroyed. “Every day I am getting phone calls,” she said at her workshop on the outskirts of Beirut. Husseini learnt her craft in France, sent by her father, a church engineer who used to order stained glass from overseas as leaded, stained glass was not common in Beirut prior to the war. One of the projects in which she took greatest pride was the 19th century St Louis Capuchin Cathedral in the Bab Idriss district of Beirut’s historic city centre, an area where she recalls going to drink lemonade with her friends as a child. The windows of the church, which was destroyed in the war, were restored by Husseini over two years in a project completed around four years ago. “I had tried, as much as possible, to feel the history of this church,” she said. “At that point I broke down, it was as if I was injured, certainly not physically, but emotionally.” Husseini said she had been thinking about stopping work in two years but her plans had now changed. “Even if 20 years of my work has gone - and perhaps I won’t last in this work for another 20 years ... we will rebuild.”

Following months of shutdown due to Covid-19, the Cairo Celebration Choir (CCC) released a new music video titled The Day (El-Youm). The song, performed by the choir, guest soloists, and musicians, went viral only 48 hours after its release on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, scoring 100,000 views in total. In addition, the audio version of The Day was released on Spotify, Anghami and other audio platforms. The video follows a technique popularised during the months of shutdown, presenting the artists in tiles as each performs from their home. The song carries a delightful, cheerful air as the lyrics lead the listeners to reflect on the benefits from the months of isolation. The lyrics tell us that as we meet our loved ones once again (after the lockdown) we have changed, our perspective on life being deeper. It is through those past months that we have developed and as such gained an opportunity to create a positive impact on the world around us. It is time for the new Day. “Since our activities stopped, the choir kept asking me to do something for online viewers. I didn’t want to create yet another composition gathering the choir members into one video. There had to be an idea and a message,” Nayer Nagui, the founder, artistic director and conductor of the Cairo Celebration Choir explains to Ahram Online.The Day is based on Nagui’s composition from 2009, commissioned to him by the Pan African Cultural Festival (Panaf) held in 2009 in Algiers. "The original lyrics talked about Africa. I changed them to words suiting the current situation and the message the choir shares with the listeners today,” Nagui clarifies, adding that the original composition was successful at numerous venues. Following its Algiers premiere, the song was performed in Morocco and Spain. The video gathers 90 members of the Cairo Celebration Choir, an over 100-member strong body, which was founded in 2000 by Nagui. Several guest soloists joined the online project including: soprano Dina Iskander, mezzo soprano Jolie Faizy, Arabic singer Rehab Metawi, in addition to instrumentalists Diaa Badr Tass (percussion), Steven Simon (bass guitar), the Ayoub Sisters (violin and cello), Ramadan Mansour (tabla), Nashaat Labib (req), and Veronica Bievz (piano). The video gave special thanks to Peter Bahgat (for guitar audio tracks) and Mayada Emam (for sign language). Music, lyrics and choir arrangement were done by Nagui, with general arrangement by Steven Simon. Nagui underlines the great effort the whole team exerted during the production of the music video. “While the choir followed the composition as is, the soloists improvised their lines,” he explains.Nagui describes the audio recording as “a real hero of the production,” explaining that each singer and instrumentalist recorded their lines individually from home, using their mobile phones. “Sound editing and mixing were done by Mafdy Thabet in Dream Studio. Mafdy collected a total of 152 tracks, each recorded with a different phone, in different environments and with different acoustics. Turning it all into one work that sounds uniform as if it were recorded in one studio is a real rocket science work,” Nagui says. He adds that prior to the recording, the singers were given a long list of instructions from video director Mohamed El Alfy, who worked with video editor Sherif El Alfy representing Grand Creation. “Each position of the singer, the direction of his eyes, the outfit, the reactions, and head movements were meticulously planned by Mohamed,” Nagui explains.He adds that prior to the recording, the singers were given a long list of instructions from video director Mohamed El Alfy, who worked with video editor Sherif El Alfy representing Grand Creation. “Each position of the singer, the direction of his eyes, the outfit, the reactions, and head movements were meticulously planned by Mohamed,” Nagui explains.The long list of all the artists involved is duly enumerated in lengthy credits at the end of the video, accompanied by a few short bloopers from the making. The two months of hard work have definitely paid off. The final video is an impressive five-minute-long work filled with cheerful musicality and a huge dose of positive energy while giving the viewer an impression that they also communicate with one another on the screen. “I never thought that it would be such a big deal, to be honest. On the financial level, the production of the video is equal to the long journey that includes preparations and staging of a full, one-and-a-half hour long concert,” Nagui concludes. The video is part of the year-long celebration of the Cairo Celebration Choir’s 20th anniversary. As Nagui revealed, the festive year started with the Christmas 2019 concert and will conclude with the documentary film about the choir scheduled to be released by the end of 2020.Founded in 2000 by conductor and composer Nayer Nagui, the CCC consists of over 120 members from over seven nationalities from various backgrounds and professions. The singers came together through the passion for music, a dedication to singing and a desire to spread cross-cultural understanding and musical appreciation in Egypt, the Arab region and internationally. The CCC’s repertoire has developed over the years to include classical music compositions, arrangements of well-known Arabic and traditional pieces as well as world music. The CCC has performed in numerous prestigious venues in Egypt, including the Cairo Opera House, the Alexandria Opera House s Sayed Darwish Theatre, the Manasterly Palace, Saladin’s Citadel, All Saints Cathedral, the Basilique Church, among others. On the international scene, the choir enchanted audiences at Morocco’s National Mohammed V Theatre in Rabat, and was joined by the French Choeur régional Vittoria d’Ile-de-France in a performance in Soisy-sous-Montmorency before heading to the UNESCO Main Theatre Hall in Paris in 2014. The choir won the Silver Award for Stylish Interpretation of Arabic Music in the “Prague Voices” choir competition in the Czech Republic, and in 2016 it earned the Silver Award Diploma in the category of Folklore with Accompaniment at the World Choir Games in Sochi, Russia. The CCC is also known to give annual Christmas concerts at the Cairo Opera House, an event attracting large audiences during the festive days.

After years of estrangement, American actor Brad Pitt will cooperate with his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston for the first time since separating 19 years ago, when Pitt went on to marry actress Angelina Jolie. The two will co-star in a virtual live-table reading of the script for “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” (1982). A celebration of the film will take place on Facebook and TikTok, showing clips from the movie and dialogue between the two stars and other cast members, which include Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, Morgan Freeman, Henry Golding, Shia LaBeouf, Sean Penn, and Dane Cook. Proceeds from this live broadcast will be donated to help medical efforts against the coronavirus. Pitt, 56, and Aniston, 52, have not worked together since 2001, before their separation. Rumors later swelled regarding Pitt s relationship with Jolie after they co-starred in “Mr and Mrs Smith” (2005). Pitt then announced his separation from Aniston and got into a relationship with Jolie for ten years. They got married in their tenth year, only to eventually divorce following Pitt s drug abuse. He underwent treatment in order to meet his six children with Jolie, three of whom are adopted. Rumors then began to surface regarding a possible return to Aniston, who herself had recently announced separating from fiancé writer and actor Justin Theroux. For years since their marriage, Pitt and Aniston had been considered one of the most beloved couples in Hollywood, until they separated without having children.

After an absence of 27 years, Egyptian superstar Amr Diab will finally return to the world of acting with an Arabic-speaking series on Netflix. The Netflix Middle East Twitter account announced the news, writing: “Amr Diab, the best-selling artist in the Middle East, who won seven World Music Awards and six African Music Awards, returns to the drama after a 27-year absence with Netflix.” Diab expressed happiness after contracting with Netflix to work on an international project. On his official Twitter account, the star published a video and commented: “Very happy to cooperate with Netflix in this new artistic work. I am one of the firmest believers that art is a global language, and now with this dramatic work I am very excited, along with Netflix, that we can reach more than 193 million followers in more than 190 countries around the world.” Diab recently released the song “Malak Ghairan” through an Egyptian telecommunications company. It is written by Turki Al Sheikh, composed by Folklore, and distributed by Bosnians Salvatore Ganacci and Nabuchadnosar Poli. He also recently released a clip of his song “Ya Baladna Ya Helwa”, written by Tamer Hussein, composed by Aziz al-Shafei, distributed by Tariq Madkour, and directed by Tariq al-Erian.

Egyptian actress Nelly Karim announced that filming for the second part of “Bi 100 Wesh” (Of a Hundred Faces) TV series would begin soon, following the success of the first season during the 2020 Ramadan season. Karim published pictures with co-star Asser Yassin on her Instagram account on Saturday, writing: “We miss you all … thank you for all the love and support .We are very glad u guys liked the tv series. Can’t wait for Part 2 sooooooooon.”

Famous Egyptian singer Mohamed El-Helw is gearing up for a concert at the Cairo Opera House s Fountain Theatre on Friday 21 August. El-Helw will sing some of his songs including Ahim Shawqan , Ya Habibi , Amar Ya Eskenria and others, in addition to known covers like El-Touba , Aiwa-Allah Gharib El-Dar and others. Conducted by the famous Selim Sehab, who is returning to action after a long absence, the concert will be opened with a performance by singer Ayat Farouk and Sarah Sehab. At the same venue, the Cairo Opera House is hosting a series of events during the second half of August. On Sunday, the Cairo Opera Company is introducing a selection of musicals and international songs, while on Wednesday the chanting company will celebrate the Islamic New Year, before Nesma Mahgoub will have a concert on Friday 28. Egypt resumed public cultural activities last month 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 facemasks, and sanitising.

In its 5th edition, London s Safar Film Festival, an event dedicated to Arab cinema, will take place online due to the coronavirus, screening films digitally between 13 and 20 September. This year s edition carries the motto Safar From Home . According to the organisers, the festival will offer five free screenings made available to the UK viewers in addition to the special events featuring leading figures from the Arab world s cinema industry screened for free worldwide. The festival s line-up includes films from Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine and Morocco, yet the titles are yet to be revealed. The details and screenings will be unveiled on the festival s website. Safar Film Festival was launched in 2012 and is London s only biennial film festival celebrating Arab cinema. Over the past four editions, the screenings took place at the Arab British Centre in London.

Egyptian superstar Amr Diab is set to release a new song with fellow singer Dina el-Sherbiny titled “Amaken al-Sahar” (Nightlife Places), their first collaboration together. Portraying a summery atmosphere, filming for the song’s music video concluded at a north coast resort. On Tuesday Diab uploaded a photo on his Facebook showing him with Sherbiny, crew members and friends, writing “Nightlife places.. soon.” Diab’s fans shared clips of the star carrying Sherbiny as part of the upcoming song’s music video. This track also serves as a prelude to Diab’s upcoming album, with most of the songs having wrapped recording with a date still to be announced. “Amaken al-Sahar” is written by Tamer Hussein, composed by Aziz al-Shafie, and directed by Ahmad al-Najar. Diab has built a multi-decade career that began with his musical debut in 1983. He is now known as one of the most famous pop stars of Egypt and the Middle East and has been nicknamed “al-Hadaba” (the Plateau) as a reference to his greatness. Over the past three and a half decades, Diab has successfully remained one of Egypt’s and the Middle East’s most acclaimed international stars, winning numerous awards. The Egyptian pop star is the first in the Arab world to produce high tech music videos, and in 1996, Diab released the album “Nour El Ain,” which was celebrated worldwide and helped to gain the pop star recognition beyond the Middle East. In 2009, Diab won four African Music Awards for Song of the Year, Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, and Best Male Act. He won two additional African Music Awards in 2010. He is also the only Middle Eastern artist to have received seven World Music Awards, and set the Guinness Record for winning Best Selling Middle East Artist the most times.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina s Art Centre will open its 18th International Summer Festival on Saturday with a concert by Dina El Wedidi and her band. The well-known singer and songwriter will perform pieces from her repertoire, which is rooted in her Egyptian heritage but also features wider African and global influences. In addition to her song Tedawar W-Tergaa, re-launched in an acoustic version this week and dedicated to its late writer Mido Zoheir, El Wedidi will perform other popular tracks like Al-Seirah, Kotr El-Wagaa and Fi Belad El-Agayeb. The two-week festival, which is operating under strict safety measures in light of the coronavirus pandemic, is dedicated to late Egyptian folk dance icon Mahmoud Reda, who passed away on 10 July at the age of 89.The festival will feature a variety of performances and lectures on different art forms. On Sunday, it will host Fouad and Mounib and Michelle Rounds band while, film director Adel Adeeb will give a master class entitled “The Role of the Film Director.” The five-day “Low Budget Filmmaking” workshop, conducted by the film director Ahmed Rashwan, will also kick off on Sunday. The programme also includes a stand-up comedy performance by Mohamed Helmy on Monday and a performance of El-Leila El-Kebira by Fabrica on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina orchestra, with conductor Nayer Nagui, will perform a selection from famous musicals. Cultural events and activities in Egypt were resumed last month as part of phase one of the country s reopening after the COVID-19 shutdowns. All events are being held under strict measures that include social distancing, obligatory masks, and sanitisation.

Egyptian singer Medhat Saleh will perform a concert at the Cairo Opera House’s open-air Nafoura Theater on August 13. Featuring the participation of pianist Amr Selim, Saleh will sing songs such as Aked, Hekayt Warda, Walla Teswa Demoua, Hatklm, Kawkab Tany, El Millionerat, Had Yaoul Lhabibi, Bahlam Ala Kaddy, Ya Gared al-Nakhl el-Aaly alongside performances of some of the most beloved classical Arab songs. Saleh expressed joy to perform at the Cairo Opera House, and hailed the Nafoura Theater as a grand new achievement enriching Egypt’s culture. The Ministry of Culture set up two open-air theaters, located in the Cairo Opera House complex and al-Hanager Theater Square, to allow events to resume while maintaining social distancing precautions. The two theaters host daily performances and ceremonies at a capacity of 25 percent. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced back in June that restaurants and cafes would resume operating at 25 percent customer capacity, a first step toward a gradual reopening. Shisha smoking, however, remained banned. Hotels are reopened at 50 percent occupancy rates, while shops and commercial malls are closed at nine pm while restaurants and cafes closed at 10 pm. Clubs, youth centers, cultural facilities and cinemas are also allowed to reopen at 25 percent capacity.

The fourth annual Gouna Film Festival (GFF), which is scheduled to take place from October 23 to 31, will screen a total of 16 international films, according to festival s Director Entishal al-Tamimi. Tamimi added that the GFF will continue to select important movies to be included in the festival. The festival s Technical Director Amir Ramsis said that the “GFF insists on screening unique cinematic works in its fourth year, despite the coronavirus outbreak that represents a challenge to daily living.” One of the features GFF will screen is the Italian-Swiss drama film “Bad Tales” (2020), written and directed by co-directors Damiano and Fabio D Innocenzo. The selection of “Bad Tales” came after it won the Silver Bear Award for best screenplay in the seventieth annual Berlin Film Festival. In an earlier interview, GFF s chief operating officer Bushra Roza said that since the coronavirus outbreak has caused several film festivals to be postponed, this year s GFF will serve as a positive beacon to people worldwide. This year s festival will be held at the Gouna Convention and Culture Center, which is built on 8,000 square meters of open space, she added. The festival provides an extraordinary cinematic and cultural experience via open and enclosed spaces, as well as its virtual CineGouna Platform. The festival s first priority is to ensure the safety of its guests, Roza said. It is therefore implementing coronavirus measures set by the Ministry of Health.

Egypt s Minister of Heath Hala Zayed on Sunday implored all citizens to continue abiding by preventive measures such as social distancing to help curb the coronavirus outbreak. She recommended people avoid family gatherings, keep a distance of no less than one meter in public, wear masks properly and safely dispose of them. Other recommendations she listed are to avoid handshakes especially in closed spaces, and carefully wash hands for over 20 seconds and/or use rubbing alcohol. The ministry s spokesperson Khaled Megahed recommended that people avoid public areas such as markets and shops. He also stressed that personal utensils must not be shared and to avoid touching any unclean surfaces. Megahed particularly urged that pregnant women, elderly people over sixty years of age or anyone suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or lung issues to avoid public gatherings, as they are the most vulnerable to the virus. Anyone suffering from symptoms must rush to the nearest hospital immediately, he stressed.