Latest news with #UmKolthoum
Al-Ahram Weekly
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt's presence shines at Rotterdam Arab Film Festival
Egypt's prominent presence at the Rotterdam Arab Film Festival (RAFF, 28 May–1 June) is highlighted by Salwa Mohamed Aly as jury member, Laila Elwy as guest of honour, Um Kolthoum special tribute, among others. Under the banner of 'Year of Women', the 25th edition of RAFF shines a spotlight on women's contributions to cinema. Salwa Mohamed Aly Egyptian actress Salwa Mohamed Aly will serve as a jury member for the Short Film Competition. Aly rose to prominence portraying Khala Khayreya, a central character in the beloved children's television show Alam Simsim. She later worked with Disney Arabic, voicing numerous animated characters. In the 2000s, she took on a series of prominent, though secondary, roles in many critically acclaimed films and television series. Often dubbed "the queen of secondary roles" — frequently cast as the protagonist's mother or best friend — Aly established herself as one of the finest actresses of her generation, portraying strong, multifaceted women on screen. In recent years, she has served on juries for several film festivals, further cementing her position in the industry. Laila Elwy This year's Guest of Honour is Egyptian actress Laila Elwy, who will be celebrated with a screening of Keep Calm and Listen (dir. Sherif Arafa, 1991). Born to an Egyptian father and a Greek mother, Elwy has appeared in over 70 films and has been honoured at Egyptian and international festivals. With a career spanning more than four decades, she made her cinematic debut in Min Agl Al-Haya (1977) and gained early acclaim with Kharag wa Lam Ya'oud (1985). Her notable works include El-Harafesh (1986), Al-Massir (1997), Lahazat Harega (Critical Moments, 2007), Shams (2014), and Brooks, Meadows and Lovely Faces (2016). Elwy has also left her mark on television, with acclaimed performances in series such as Al-'Aaila (The Family), Alf Leyla wa Leyla (One Thousand and One Nights), and the award-winning mini-series Magnoon Laila (2009). Among the festival's special guests is Egyptian actress Hana Shiha, who rose to fame after co-starring with Elwy in Khaled El-Haggar's 2004 film Girls' Love. Now 39, Shiha remains a prominent figure in the Egyptian film industry. A tribute to Um Kolthoum The festival's opening ceremony will honour legendary singer Um Kolthoum (1898–1975), marking 50 years since her passing. The tribute includes a live performance by the Marmoucha Orchestra, The Phonograph Changed Me, featuring Lebanese musician Toni Geitani. The concert will revisit Um Kolthoum's early works and offer a unique reinterpretation of her legacy. Before the performance, Geitani will join Dutch author Willem Bruls to discuss the singer's earliest influences and the cultural roots of her enduring impact. In addition, Um Kolthoum's 1942 film Aida (directed by Ahmed Badrakhan) will be screened as part of the tribute. Famed for her deep, resonant voice, Um Kolthoum captivated the Arab world for decades with a repertoire that included religious and patriotic anthems and poetic love songs. Egyptian films in and out of competition Two Egyptian films, Perfumed with Mint by Mohamed Hamdy and Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo by Khaled Mansour, will compete in the feature film category. The Short Film Competition features six Egyptian titles: Last Nights of Summer (Fatema Yasser), Love Bites (Mahmoud Zein), Madonna (John Fareed Zaki), We Are in Need of Cosmic Help (Ahmed Emad), For Our Relationship to Complete (Bishoy Kamel), and I Belong to You (Amina Abdel-Ghany). The Egyptian-Tunisian co-production The Life That Remains — the directorial debut of Tunisian actress Dorra Zarrouk — will compete in the Documentary Film segment. Women Who Loved Cinema (2002) by Marianne Khoury and When We're Born (2019) by Tamer Ezzat will also be screened out of competition. In celebration of its 25th anniversary, RAFF is also dedicating a special section to Palestine, featuring four Palestinian films. One of Europe's oldest and fastest-growing festivals dedicated to Arab cinema, RAFF continues to showcase powerful storytelling from the MENA region, including many award-winning titles. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Um Kolthoum among the Pharaohs - Culture - Al-Ahram Weekly
I always envied the generation that witnessed and cherished Um Kolthoum's monthly Thursday night performance, which was broadcast live on the radio to where it could be enjoyed even by those who could not attend the concert. By the time I was born, Um Kolthoum, the Star of the East, had only five more years to perform before she bid the planet farewell. My adolescent years were spent listening to the 'Nightingale' Abdel-Halim Hafez. I did not grow up loving the voice of Um Kolthoum, nor could I enjoy her hours-long performances, or observe the lyrics. By the time I grew up, she dwelled as deeply in my heart as Hafez. Last week, to mark the diva's 50th death anniversary, RMC Worldwide brought back Thouma to the best spot in Egypt on what happened to be the coldest day of the month, perhaps of the year. The Voice of Egypt and the Arab world revisited the cradle of civilisation in the presence of thousands of Egyptians who enjoyed that magical comeback on two consecutive nights at the Grand Egyptian Museum's main hall. According to Ahmed Ebeid, founder and managing director of RMC, both nights saw some 4400 guests. 'After the first concert sold out in almost 48 hours, we decided to organise a second night.' The Fourth Pyramid, as Um Kolthoum is called, was represented by two powerful Egyptian Opera voices, Riham Abdel-Hakim and Mai Farouk. Ebeid had no doubt about their ability to personify 'Al-Sett', or the Lady. The recital opened with an orchestral performance of Zakareya Ahmed's composition Ghanni li shewayy shewayy 'Sing for me bit by bit', conducted by Mohamed Al-Mougui. The message here was clear. The lyrics of the song, written by Tunisian-Egyptian poet Beyram Al-Tonsi, ushered the audience into a night to remember. A carefully selected overture: 'Sing for me bit by bit, then take my eyes. Singing brings life to the soul, it heals the sick, it treats the wounds that doctors can't. In darkness, singing brings light to lovers' eyes.' Riham Abdel-Hakim's comeback as 'Al-Sett' comes 25 years after her role as the child Um Kolthoum, in a 1999 series narrating the life of the diva, when Abdel-Hakim was only 16. Abdel-Hakim performed six songs, the first and last being major masterpieces: Enta Omri or 'You are my life' was the first collaboration between Thouma and the renowned 'Musician of the Generations' Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, and for that reason the piece was dubbed 'the clouds' encounter', referring to the two stars' first meeting. Poet Ahmed Rami's words echoed all around: 'Egypt that's on my mind and on my lips, I love her, she's in my blood and soul,' seeing the audience's eyes and mobile phones turn to the huge statue of Ramses II standing tall, guarding them in glory. Singing a patriotic song dear to all our hearts, produced after the 1952 Revolution, composed by Riyadh Al-Sonbati, the audience was deeply moved. A remarkable art exhibition celebrating Um Kolthoum's legacy was organised by Al-Ahram's Nisf Al-Dunia and Al-Beit magazines alongside the concert. Modern artworks like Mandil Al-Sett 'The Diva's Handkerchief', Arabic calligraphy, portrait paintings and compositions, besides photography and newspapers commemorating her life, were all on display. Mai Farouk hit the stage too, she performed six songs. The last two brought special warmth into the cold night. Misr tatahaddath aan nafsaha or 'Egypt speaks for herself' also made Ramses II appear as proud as the audience around him, the sons and daughters of the great Pharaoh. This is a poem written by Hafez Ibrahim, known as the Nile Poet: 'All creatures stood still to watch how I founded my glory alone...' It made me stare at the forearms and shoulders of the statue in amazement. What a night, what a wonderful venue of heritage to listen to powerful performances. Al-Sett never left Egypt and the Arab world, she continues to exist, inspiring past and present generations. Many times during the concert, I barely stopped myself from loudly exclaiming azama ala azama ya sett, a phrase that announces the greatness of the performance often heard during the star's performances, notably from the mouth of her famous fan Hajj Said Al-Tahhan, who never missed a live concert. The newly appointed Investment Adviser to the Minister of Culture Ahmed Ebeid is making use of Egypt's decades-old backdrops by fusing cultural content with the country's heritage sites. For Ebeid and his team, each event is a challenge, 'but this one required special preparation because of the legendary character we were bringing back to the audience. Expectations were so high with a huge number of VIPs attending both days in such cold weather.' In previous events, Ebeid brought back Abdel-Halim Hafez to the GEM in a night titled 'Sawwah' after one of his songs, as well as bringing soprano Fatma Said to the Abdine Palace. Ebeid revealed to Al-Ahram Weekly that the next grand show will celebrate Omar Khairat, during the month of May. The finale of the four-hour show was the song called 'One Thousand and One Nights', a favourite tune composed by the genius Baligh Hamdi: 'Oh, my love, this is a sweet night of love, a night of the thousand and one nights, in a whole life, and what is life other than a sweet night, like tonight?' We left the night warm, happy but insatiate, craving more Thouma. * A version of this article appears in print in the 6 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt's iconic voice remembered - Culture - Al-Ahram Weekly
On 5 February 1975, Egypt bid farewell to its greatest singer: Um Kolthoum. The funeral of the woman whose voice and songs has mesmerised Arab listeners all over the world for decades was on a suitably grand scale and compared with that of former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel-Nasser a few years before. Today, five decades after her death, Um Kolthoum is still an uncontested voice on the Arab airwaves. Her songs, which sold in the millions on record and cassette in her lifetime, are now viewed in the millions on YouTube or downloaded from online applications. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of the nation's most legendary singer, various events are underway. Among the publications that have appeared is Um Kolthoum: Min Al-Milad ila Al-Ostoura (Um Kolthoum: A Legend is Born) by Egyptian writer Hassan Abdel-Mawgoud and published by Diwan Books in Cairo. The first edition of the book was available at the Cairo International Book Fair that opened on 23 January and closed on 5 February, with several other publishers also offering titles, old and new and both fiction and non-fiction, to remember Um Kolthoum. Abdel-Mawgoud's book stands out for the literary style he has used to retell what by now is a familiar story. The woman who became Um Kolthoum was born, most likely hours before the end of 1898, in a poor village to a mother who had wished to give her husband a second son to join him in singing the praise of the Prophet Mohamed and reciting Quranic verses at religious events. Instead of a son, however, she gave birth to a daughter and one whose incredible voice took her to the top of the world, becoming the Arab world's most-famous singer whose performances were requested by millions of fans and also by top Arab leaders. Aware of the difficulty of finding new information about the life and works of Um Kolthoum, whose story and music have been visited and revisited many times by researchers and writers, including those who knew her personally, Abdel-Mawgoud has used all the literary techniques at his disposal to make the story fresh for his Egyptian and Arab audience. The book is written in 50 short parts, glimpses of the life of Um Kolthoum, with each capturing a particular moment of her life and success in something like chronological order. Each of these parts is based on a true story and for the most part comes with quotations from interviews either with Um Kolthoum herself or with artists who knew and worked with her. Some elements may be fictional, but all of them preserve the atmosphere and special character of the first half of the 20th century in Egypt. Each can be read independently, and each is coupled with a photograph from the archives of leading Egyptian newspapers such as Akhbar Al-Youm, Al-Ahram, and Dar Al-Hilal or from the personal archives of photographer Farouk Ibrahim who took many of her pictures. None of the pictures has a direct association with the story it is coupled with. And none of the stories has any specific date. As a result, the book makes up a series of glimpses of Um Kolthoum, a technique perhaps designed by its author and publisher to spare the volume from being perceived as research-based, unlike author Karim Gamal's Um Kolthoum Wal-Maghoud al-Harbi (Um Kolthoum Supports the Army) published by Tanmia in 2023. This was a great success and went into many editions, being praised on the basis of its diligent and thorough archival research. Like many of the other titles published on Um Kolthoum since she passed away on 3 February 1975 at the Military Hospital in Maadi at the age of 75, Abdel-Mawgoud draws a picture of a conservative and highly ambitious woman who managed to overcome the obstacles that she might have faced because of her female sex and to capitalise on her remarkable voice and equally remarkable hard work to become Egypt's uncontested top singer. She worked with some of the top writers, composers, and musicians of her time, almost from the time she started singing in the mid-1920s, and Abdel-Mawgoud's book re-tells some of the most famous anecdotes that relate to her career, including the passion that her closest co-workers, poet Ahmed Rami and musician Mohamed Al-Kasabgi, had for her. It also recalls her hallmark rituals in preparing for her recitals, managing her rehearsals, and communicating with dedicated fans who would travel across the country to attend her performances. However, unlike other volumes that perhaps idolise Um Kolthoum, Abdel-Mawgoud does not shy away from showing her as a possessive and uncompromising woman who tried to monopolise the talent of some of the musicians who worked with her and who was willing to enter into tough disputes with her co-workers over financial issues. She could be relentlessly competitive, and she was never comfortable with the idea of anyone else coming near the level she had reached, not only in terms of the quality of her art and the size of her popularity, but also in terms of the status she had with the then political regime. Abdel-Mawgoud does not sentimentalise Um Kolthoum's cooperation with up-and-coming composers and musicians, but shows it for what it must have been: the pursuit of continuous efforts to innovate in her art. He examines some of the by-ways of the Um Kolthoum phenomenon including her admiration for actress Madiha Yousri and belly dancer Tahia Karioka, her encounter with Coco Chanel in Paris, her expensive tastes that were reflected in her wardrobe and her jewelry, and her unfulfilled wish for motherhood. There is also the famous story of the awkward relationship that Um Kolthoum had with Mounira Al-Mahdia, who controlled the world of Egyptian music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries prior to her rise. It reminds readers of the admiring letter that Al-Mahdia sent Um Kolthoum in 1964 following the astounding success of her song Enta Omri (You are my Life), her first cooperation with top composer Mohamed Abdel-Wahab. The book reflects on Um Kolthoum's jealousy of Nour Al-Hoda, a singer of Lebanese origin, and her anger at what she saw as attempts by young singer Nagat Al-Saghira at imitating her style. However, it is cautious about Um Kolthoum's famous anxieties about the competition represented by singer Asmahan, whose golden voice attracted many of the composers that Um Kolthoum wanted to monopolise and who died in a mysterious car accident in 1944 after having released only a few songs, most of them composed by her brother Farid Al-Atrash, who never worked with Um Kolthoum, and Mohamed Al-Kasabgi who was always under the spell of Um Kolthoum and Abdel-Wahab. Her issues with Abdel-Halim Hafez, Egypt's top male singer in the 1950s to the 1970s, are also not included in Abdel-Mawgoud's book. It does not say much about the marriage of Um Kolthoum to Hassan Al-Hefnawi, a source of gossip at the time. Instead, it presents Al-Hefnawi, counter-intuitively, to have had the upper hand in the relationship. Overall, Abdel-Mawgoud's book shows Um Kolthoum to have been a woman with her own fair share of insecurities, even if he does not put this in so many words. Her unmatched success failed to make her immune against a desire for ever more praise both for her work and for her looks. She was a human being with a voice from heaven, the author says, not an angel somehow walking on earth. She was a real woman and not just the mythical Kawkab Al-Sharq (star of the east), as she was dubbed by a fan from Haifa during one of her performances in Palestine prior to the Nakba of 1948. * A version of this article appears in print in the 13 February, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Short link:
