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Al-Ahram Weekly
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Not to be missed: From Alexandria, Aswan film festivals to Samih Sawiris on piano, Jazz Day, El-Masreyeen - Music - Arts & Culture
Ahram Online highlights a selection of do-not-miss events this week from 30 April to 7 May in Cairo, Alexandria, and Aswan. Alexandria Short Film Festival's 11th edition (ASFF) 27 April - 2 May Across several venues in Alexandria The ASFF, organized by the Arts' Circle (Dayret Al-Fann) Association, offers film screenings, panels, workshops, and masterclasses, among others. The films compete in several categories: fiction films, documentary films, animation films, Arab films, and Egyptian student films. Follow the festival's page for more details about its programme. New films across cinemas Thursday, 1 May, brings several new films to movie theatres across Egypt: - Thunderbolts, starring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, and David Harbour; - Popeye The Slayer Man, starring Jason Robert Stephens, Sarah Nicklin, and Angela Relucio; - Sneaks, starring Martin Lawrence, Keith David, and Lawrence Fishburne; - Daniela Forever, starring Henry Golding and Beatrice Grannò. Mazaher ensemble (Zar) - music Wednesday, 30 April, 8pm Egyptian Centre for Culture & Arts - Makan, 1 Saad Zaghloul Str., Cairo Mazaher is an ensemble where women play a leading role. Its music is inspired by the three different musical styles of the Zar tradition practised in Egypt. Um Sameh, Um Hassan, and Nour El-Sabah, the musicians of Mazaher, are among the last remaining Zar practitioners in Egypt. El-Masreyeen band and Ziad Zaza - music Thursday, 1 May, 5pm Greek Campus, 171 Tahrir Str., Downtown, Cairo The band, one of the most famous Egyptian bands during the past few decades, was launched in 1977 by composer and conductor Hany Shenouda. This year, its fame shone again after its music was featured in the series Hala Khassa. The band is regularly performing in different venues. Egyptian rapper Ziad Zaza began his musical career three years ago. He released five EPs, two albums, and several singles. His song Dayra (2022) has garnered over 3.6 million views on YouTube. Ali Omar El-Farouk & Ahmed Harfoush - music Thursday, 1 May, 8pm Room Art Space & Café, 10 Etehad Al Mohamin Str., Garden City Dubbed "The Greatest Egyptian and American Songs," the evening will present a selection of jazz and pop classics from the golden era of music, featuring songs by Cole Porter, Abdel-Wahab, George Gershwin, Fareed El-Atrash, Jerome Kern, and Kamal El-Taweel. The night will be filled with nostalgia, music, and escape with the guitar and vocal sounds of Ali Omar El-Farouk and Harfoush. El-Farouk is an Egyptian-Canadian guitarist and oud player based in Montreal and Cairo. He is an active performer, teacher, and composer with a professional career spanning more than two and a half decades. Harfoush is an Egyptian jazz and pop vocalist based in London and has performed around the world for over two decades. Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) - film Friday, 2 May - Wednesday. 7 May The 9th edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival will be held across several venues in the southern city of Aswan. The festival is named after Umm Kalthoum, so the star's face is featured on the AIWFF's poster. This unique event is the brainchild of Mohamed Abdel Khalik, the festival's president, and Hassan Abou Eleila, its director. It is also a platform for films created by women or that tackle women-related issues, featuring workshops, seminars, discussions, and screenings. The AIWFF invites men to conversations and craft talks to build a dynamic balance between the two genders through the topics tackled and the journeys of the movies' creators. Moreover, the festival also plays an educational role. Among its various activities aimed at developing and supporting young and aspiring filmmakers, the festival holds workshops in the weeks leading up to the event. As a result, those from Egypt's south who participate in these workshops start to create short films. Sheikh Mahmoud El-Tohamy - music Friday, 2 May, 8pm Wisdom Hall, El-Sawy Culturewheel, 26th of July Street, Zamalek, Cairo Mahmoud, the son of the famous Sufi chanter Sheikh Yassin El-Tohamy, is among the masters of deeply rooted Islamic musical art. He has performed Sufi poetry chants at traditional Islamic Sunni events across the country, often appearing at significant moulid events in Cairo's Al-Hussein and Al-Sayeda Zeinab districts. El-Tohamy often collaborates with Egyptian Grammy award-winning Fathy Salama and his band Sharkiat in a project launched in 2018, titled Sufism vs. Modernism. Cassette 90 band - music Saturday, 3 May, 8pm Wisdom Hall, El-Sawy Culturewheel, 26th of July Street, Zamalek, Cairo The band consists of eight musicians who revive songs from the 1990s, including those by Egyptian singers Mostafa Amar, Hisham Abbas, Alaa Abdelkhalek, and Ehab Tawfik. International Jazz Day - music Tuesday, 6 May, 8pm Theatro Arkan, Sheikh Zayed City, Cairo International Jazz Day, organized by Cairo Jazz Society, will feature over 40 of Egypt's jazz stars. These include vocalist Noha Fekry, pianist Fathy Salama, guitarist Amer Barakat, and saxophonist Shady El-Qasseer. Abdel-Halim Nowera Ensemble for Arab Music - music Sunday, 4 May, 8pm Cairo Opera House, Main Hall, Zamalek, Cairo In memory of the prominent 20th-century Egyptian singer and composer Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, the ensemble will perform some of his best-known works. The ensemble was founded in 1967 by maestro Abdel-Halim Nowera. Its mission is to revive the authentic musical heritage, presenting various traditional vocal and musical forms. The evening, conducted by maestro Ahmed Amer, will feature singers Ahmed Abdel-Kerim, Rehab Omar, Hossam Hosni, and Essam Mahmoud, among others. Egyptian Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Samih Sawiris - music Wednesday, 7 May, 8pm Cairo Opera House, Main Hall, Zamalek, Cairo The Egyptian Philharmonic Orchestra will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a special concert featuring Samih Sawiris, a well-known Egyptian businessman, who will perform on the piano. Conducted by maestros Ahmed El-Saedi and a guest conductor Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer, the orchestra will perform Joja Wendt's Concert for Piano and Orchestra "The Challenge," followed by Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor. Sawiris, a business tycoon and the executive chairman and CEO of Orascom Development Holding, has been studying piano as a hobby for eight years, supported by El-Saedi. His first appearance on stage was in 2023, accompanied by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, in a grand charity concert in Gouna. Additionally, in the first half of the evening, the Al Nour Wal Amal Orchestra, conducted by Tamer Kamal, will perform two pieces: Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre and Breval's Sinfonia Concertante for Flute, Bassoon, and Strings. The soloists of the orchestra are Basma Ahmed on the flute and Mariz Makram on the bassoon. Al Nour Wal Amal, founded in the 1060s, is Egypt's renowned orchestra of blind and visually impaired women musicians. The orchestra has toured the world performing in more than 30 countries across five continents. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Alexandria Short Film Festival kicks off with tribute to Ahmed Malek, Riham Abdel-Ghaffour - Screens - Arts & Culture
The 11th edition of the Alexandria Short Film Festival (ASFF) opened with a vibrant ceremony on Sunday, honouring actor Ahmed Malek and actress Riham Abdel-Ghaffour with the Golden Hypatia Award for their contributions to Arab cinema. Running through 2 May, the festival is being held at multiple venues across the Mediterranean city, including the Alexandria Opera House (Sayed Darwish Theatre), the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Metro Cinema, the Alexandria National Museum, and the Graeco-Roman Museum. The opening night featured a musical performance by the El-Anfoushi Ensemble led by maestro Haitham Medhat Bassiouny, and screenings of Hatch (Canada) and Children of Barzagh (UAE). This year's International Fiction Competition includes 20 short films from across the globe, with entries from Iran, Italy, Chile, Lebanon, Australia, Germany, and beyond. The jury is chaired by acclaimed Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah and includes Russian filmmaker Milyausha Aituganova, Spanish director Manuel Peña, French programmer Camille Varenne of Clermont-Ferrand, and Egyptian actress Sherry Adel. The Arab Film Competition features nine titles: We Are in Need of Cosmic Help (Egypt), In-Out (Lebanon, Bahrain), Umm Salama the Matchmaker (UAE), Milk Brothers (Morocco), Zahra (Jordan), One Last Time (Lebanon), When the Shelves Hymnn (Saudi Arabia), Night of Lovers (Egypt), and When the Sea Meets the Sky (Egypt). Additionally, 11 films were selected for the Official Out of Competition segment, including Bogota Story (Colombia), The Surrogate Girl (Turkey), Happy Independence Day (Kazakhstan), The Call (Kosovo), Cleaner (Greece), among others. One notable addition to this year's edition is the AI Film Competition, which presents 13 entries from countries including Algeria, Norway, Tunisia, France, and Egypt — reflecting the rising global interest in artificial intelligence and cinema. The Children's Cinema section will screen eight short films from Qatar, Portugal, the UAE, the US, Tunisia, and Egypt. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Student Film Competition highlights emerging talent through a selection of films — Rasal, Five Stars, Tafida's Cage, The Land of Immortality, Nesma, Tiktak, Qeshta, and Under Control — created by students from institutions including the High Cinema Institute, Beni Suef University, the American University in Cairo, and Helwan University. The animation line-up spans the globe, with entries including Sensitive Strings (UK), Detlev (Germany), Urban Duo (China), The Song of Flying Leaves (Armenia), and Cannot Sleep (Japan). Beyond screenings, ASFF 2025 is offering a robust programme of masterclasses, workshops, and panels — such as Digitizing Artistic Heritage and Challenges of Preserving Cultural Legacy with actors Mahmoud Hemeida and Ahmed Shaker. Highlights include sessions on preserving artistic heritage, special effects (director Ahmed Orabi), and children's cinema. Malek and Abdel-Ghaffour will lead an acting masterclass, while a panel on The Role of Women in Art features actress Entisar and filmmaker Kawthar Younis. A seminar exploring the intersections of artificial intelligence and film will also be held. In support of emerging talent, director Karim El-Shennawy has introduced a new award in memory of his late mother, filmmaker Maha El-Shennawy, aimed at recognizing excellence in student filmmaking. The festival will close with another round of the Golden Hypatia Awards, honouring sound engineer Moustafa Shaaban and filmmaker Emad Maher. This year's official festival poster, designed by Abdelrahman Ahmed, features Alexandria's citadel and boats, symbols of cinematic inspiration. The Palestinian flag appears alongside Egypt's, in a gesture of cultural solidarity. Organized by the Arts' Circle (Dayret Al-Fann) Association, the Alexandria Short Film Festival is a grassroots initiative founded in 2015 by Mohamed Mahmoud, Mohamed Saadoun, and artistic director Mony Mahmoud. Over the past decade, it has evolved into a vital platform for showcasing short films and nurturing emerging voices in Arab and international through 2 May, the festival is being held at multiple venues across the Mediterranean city, including the Alexandria Opera House (Sayed Darwish Theatre), the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Metro Cinema, the Alexandria National Museum, and the Graeco-Roman Museum. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
See - Sada Elbalad
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Ahmed Malek to Receive Hypatia Golden Award for Creativity at 11th Alexandria Film Festival
Yara Sameh Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek will be honored at the 11th edition of the Alexandria International Short Film Festival (ASFF), slated to run from April 27 - May 2. The actor will be the recipient of the Hypatia Golden Award for Creativity in recognition of his distinguished career in cinema and drama, both locally and internationally. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alexandria Short Film Festival (@ Born on September 29, 1995, Malek got his first audition at the age of eight when his uncle took him to perform in a commercial. In 2005, he landed his first role in the TV series "Ayamna el helwa" (Our Good Days). A few years later, he played a small role in "Mafish Fayda", starring Moustafa Amar and Basma. Shortly after, Malek was tapped to portray the role of young Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the TV series 'El-Gamaah" (2010) (The Brotherhood), which is considered the then-15-year-old's first breakthrough role. After the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Malek disappeared for a short time to focus on political and revolutionary activism. However, when director Gamal Abdel Hameed offered him the role of a young Egyptian revolutionary activist in the TV series "Al-shaware'a al-khafiya" (The Backstreets) - starring famous actors Jamal Soliman, Layla Elwy, Samy El-Adl and Gihan Fadel - he could not resist. In 2012, director Mohamed Sami offered Malek the role of Ahmed, a stammered teenage addict in his series "Ma'a Sabq Alesrar", who nominated him the following year to play the role of a troubled teen in his TV series "Hekayet Hayah". Following Malek's impressive performance, renowned Egyptian director Sharif Arafah asked him to audition for a pivotal role in the sequel of "El-Gezirah" (2007). In 2014, he returned for the sequel, which propelled him towards regional stardom in the Middle East after which he became one of the most successful and sought-after Egyptian actors of his generation. Malek would later find international fame with roles in critically acclaimed films such as "Clash" (2016), "Sheikh Jackson" (2017), and "Leil Khargi" (2018) - all of which have been selected to represent Egypt in international film festivals and award circuits. read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Videos & Features Bouchra Dahlab Crowned Miss Arab World 2025 .. Reem Ganzoury Wins Miss Arab Africa Title (VIDEO) Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple
See - Sada Elbalad
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Riham Abdel Ghafour to Be Honored with Hypatia Golden Award for Creativity at 11th Alexandria Film Festival
Yara Sameh Egyptian actress Riham Abdel Ghafour will be honored at the opening ceremony of the 11th edition of the Alexandria International Short Film Festival (ASFF), slated to run from April 27 - May 2. The acclaimed actress will be the recipient of Hypatia Golden Award for Creativity recognition of her distinguished artistic career spanning over 25 years. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alexandria Short Film Festival (@ Abdel Ghafour, born on September 6, 1978, is the daughter of the late veteran Egyptian actor Ashraf Abdel Ghafour. Throughout her journey, Riham has delivered some of the most remarkable performances in television and cinema, contributed to theater and short film projects, and left a lasting impact on the Egyptian and Arab artistic scene. The actress played the leading female role with Muhammad Heneidy and Ashraf Abdul Baky in the film 'Saaheb Sahbo – Best Friends'. She became very popular for her delicateness and distinctiveness, which was noticed in her TV and cinema roles. Abdel Ghafour participated in many TV series like 'Al-aaela wal-naas" (Family and People), 'Hadeeth al-sabaah wal-massaa" (Day and Night Talk) and 'Zizinia" (A Neighborhood in Alexandria). In cinema, she participated in 'Mallaaky Eskendereyya" (Privé Alexandria), "Kaan yowm hobbak" (The Day of your love), 'Gaay fel-sareea" (I'm Coming!) and 'Bel-Araby Cinderella" (Cinderella in Arabic). Abdel Ghafour also performed in the play 'Hamlet' and co-worked with Yahia al-Fakharaany in 'Al-Malek Lear" (King Lear). read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Videos & Features Bouchra Dahlab Crowned Miss Arab World 2025 .. Reem Ganzoury Wins Miss Arab Africa Title (VIDEO) Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Arts & Culture Arwa Gouda Gets Married (Photos)
