By David Germain / AP Peter Jackson believes Damien Echols would be dead now if not for a 1996 documentary that cast doubt on the man’s guilt in three child murders. And Amy Berg, Jackson’s colleague on the Sundance Film Festival premiere “West of Memphis,” believes former Death Row inmate Echols and two other men might …

Belgian-Italian singing sensation Lara Fabian has cancelled a Lebanon concert after activists launched a campaign accusing her of being pro-Israeli. In a message posted on her official Facebook page, the 42-year-old diva known for her French love songs, said she had pulled out of a planned Valentine’s Day concert in Lebanon over "threats." "I won’t …

Edgar Allan Poe fans waited long past a midnight dreary, but it appears annual visits to the writer’s grave in Baltimore by a mysterious figure called the "Poe Toaster" shall occur nevermore. Poe House and Museum Curator Jeff Jerome said early Thursday that die-hard fans waited hours past when the tribute bearer normally arrives. But …

Independent films that may have been years in the making get their first audiences at this week’s Sundance Film Festival. That could also mean careers in the making for unknown directors and actors whose movies connect with the right crowds. Robert Redford’s independent-cinema showcase opened Thursday with 117 feature-length films, 64 short films and a …

It’s spry versus spy as frothy silent movie "The Artist" and moody thriller "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" lead the race for the British Academy Film Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars. "The Artist" received 12 nominations and "Tinker Tailor" 11, with each film up for best picture and director, and best actor nominations for leading …

By Mariam Hamdy The new year has so far brought forth a surge of thoroughly digested thoughts and creations onto Egypt’s art scene. Delighted to be proven wrong, this year has started with a gush of excellent exhibitions successfully tackling the myriad events shaping the country post-Jan. 25. Perhaps my personal frustration at not seeing this …

CAIRO: The revolution drastically transformed everything in the lives of Egyptians. Yet while there has been quite a bit of attention paid to the dramatic political changes, more attention needs to be paid to the cultural and artistic scene that has been taking Egypt by storm since early 2011. Rather than being confined to art …

A body of work that inspires generations of artists in various fields and continues to provide enjoyment to millions of people, more than seven decades after his death, is the enduring legacy of the Indian Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. We are in the 150th year of Tagore’s birth anniversary and this past year has seen …

A growing pack of fans are howling for Uggie the terrier to get a sniff at the Oscars after the Jack Russell stole the show in the silent movie "The Artist" that scooped a slew of Golden Globe awards. The nine-year-old mutt last year took the unofficial Palm Dog prize at Cannes for his role …

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association dared to let Ricky Gervais come back and host the Golden Globe Awards, a year after he insulted the organization and nearly everyone in the star-studded room with his lacerating wit. But Gervais and the show seemed tamer and more predictable this year, not quite living up to outrageous reputations. …

CAIRO: Swiss archaeologists have discovered the tomb of a female singer dating back almost 3,000 years in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said on Sunday. The rare find was made accidentally by a team from Switzerland’s Basel University headed by Elena Pauline-Grothe and Susanne Bickel in Karnak, near Luxor in Upper …

Currently at Safar Khan Gallery is artist Khaled Hafez’s painting exhibition titled "On Codes, Symbols & Stockholm Syndrome." His first solo show in two years, the collection of works presents a new twist on his earlier style, albeit with more depth and sophistication. Heavily involved in all the tumultuous happenings, Hafez, like many artists in …

Underground train travel to bypass a chaotic traffic system? Welcome to Gaza, one of the world’s most crowded places, where a conceptual art installation expresses this tantalizing idea. Palestinian artist Mohamed Abusal erected luminous red metro signs in 50 different, and often unlikely places, across the Gaza strip, the dusty coastal territory measuring 40 square …

Kingston Technology Co. is helping pack more entertainment into Apple gadgets and Kindle Fire tablets. A Wi-Drive demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show here by the computer memory specialty company allows data-devouring iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Kindle Fire fans easily tote more movies, music, pictures or digital documents. "Kindle Fire only gives you one …

After a period of critical and commercial success, Prime Minister David Cameron has urged the British film industry to focus on making more mainstream movies to allow them to compete with Hollywood. Six months after the multi-billion-dollar grossing "Harry Potter" series came to an end, and almost a year after the low-budget film "The King’s …

The chimes may have tolled midnight in Paris, but in Hollywood, it’s the dawn of another career revival for Woody Allen after his biggest hit in decades and a new round of awards accolades. How much will the success of "Midnight in Paris" change the filmmaker’s career? Not one bit, says Allen. In nearly 45 …

SHAWNEE MISSION, Kansas: Praising Ambassador Akbar Ahmed’s new book of poetry, “Suspended Somewhere Between: A Book of Verse,” Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea,” opined, “Anyone wanting to understand Islam today must read Akbar Ahmed’s collection. We are given rare glimpses into the dilemmas, pain and despair but ultimately love and hope of …

British artist and self-marketing genius Damien Hirst looks to connect the dots in a big way with the opening Thursday of a global show for his body of colored spot paintings. The Gagosian Gallery network, with 11 locations in New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles, Rome, Athens, Geneva and Hong Kong, has been turned over …

CAIRO: Expected to be a “monument” in itself, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) entered its third and final phase of construction this week and will open in August 2015, the minister of antiquities said on Tuesday. Mohamed Ibrahim, Egypt’s minister of antiquities, said at the signing ceremony that there will be no delays to “the …

Steven Spielberg caught the filmmaking bug as a 12-year-old boy, and half a century on still goes "crazy" when he doesn’t have a story to tell, he admitted to fans packing a master class in Paris Monday night. Greeted with a standing ovation, the US director — whose works from "E.T" to "Indiana Jones" are …

The foundation that administers the iconic Guggenheim museums has given Helsinki the go-ahead to build a state-of-the-art museum, city officials said Tuesday. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation handed over its concept and development study to city officials on Tuesday, proposing that a new museum be built at a cost of €140 million ($179 million). "A …

A Pablo Picasso painting gifted to Greece by the Spanish-born master was stolen from Athens’ National Gallery early Monday with two other important artworks, prompting scorn from the Greek police minister. "Woman’s Head," a 1939 oil on canvas, had been given by Picasso to the Greek state in 1949 in recognition of the country’s resistance …

Bulgarian-born French concert pianist Alexis Weissenberg, considered one of the great classical music performers of the 20th century, has died aged 82. After suffering from Parkinson’s disease for 30 years, Weissenberg died on Sunday in Lugano, Switzerland, Paris Orchestra artistic director Didier de Cottignies said. "A virtuoso musician and a big-hearted man who spared no …

Michael Jackson’s three children are to sink their father’s shoes and famous sequined glove into the cement outside a storied Hollywood cinema and tourist site, organizers said Thursday. In a rare public appearance, Prince, Paris and Blanket will make their late father’s mark in the cement outside the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on January 26. The …