By Joseph Fahim One of the most exciting new discoveries in independent film is Mubi, a multi-platform website that functions as a screening room for art-house films, an outlet for serious art criticism and a space for discussion. Mubi’s expanding library features a wide array of films, ranging from Roman Polanksi’s classic “Repulsion” and Lars …

For those unfamiliar with art from the Eastern European countries known as “the Visegrad,” it will be difficult to communicate the subtlety, depth and intensity of the Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovakian films screened this week under the auspices of the Visegrad Film Festival in Cairo. For those who are, this was a great opportunity …

CAIRO: A team of Egyptian and European archaeologists has unearthed a statue of the ancient Egyptian king Amenhotep III at his funerary temple in Luxor. The 2.5-meter alabaster head of the 18th dynastic king remains intact, Zahi Hawass, antiquities minister, said in a statement Tuesday. Amenhotep III ruled from 1390-1352 BC. Hawass described the statue’s …

  Walls do talk. With new art projects now spreading across the country, the seaside streets that lead into the cultural capital of Alexandria tell an interesting story.   Alexandria has always been dubbed a scenic, cultural capital, housing profound structures such as the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the Pharos lighthouse. However, a sudden renaissance of …

With Shakira and other top international artists performing in open air venues around Morocco’s capital — often for free — the annual Mawazine world music festival doesn’t at first seem like something anyone could dislike. Activists from Morocco’s pro-reform February 20 movement, however, tried to get it canceled, describing it as a symptom of the …

Since the introduction of radio to Egypt in the beginning of the 20th century, a strong radio culture was insistently cultivated, growing in prominence and popularity over time. From the widely broadcasted monthly concerts of the legendary Om Kolthoum that saw people from different social backgrounds gathering round a radio to listen to the late …

"Lust, Caution" star Tang Wei’s role in a Chinese propaganda blockbuster as the first love of Communist China’s founding father, Mao Zedong, has reportedly been dropped, raising the prospect that the actress is still suffering backlash after playing a traitor in the 2007 World War II-era spy thriller. While "Lust, Caution" gave Tang international exposure, …

In the days and months that have followed the departure of former president Hosni Mubarak, it would be very easy to create a work about the January 25 Revolution in a way which prematurely capitalizes on its nostalgia. Along the fault lines of sustaining political instability, a good deal of current works in progress on …

A leading international art fair is to display a provocative work by detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in Hong Kong in a show of solidarity with the outspoken dissident amid a government crackdown. Director Magnus Renfrew said the organizers of ART HK shared the concerns of the international community over Ai’s fate, and called for …

CAIRO: The military prosecution released three artists arrested early on Thursday ahead of planned mass protests, for criticizing the ruling military council in a poster. “I don’t know why we were transferred to the military prosecution,” graffiti artist Mohamed Fahmy, who goes by Ganzeer on Twitter, told Daily News Egypt minutes after his release. He …

WASHINGTON: Archaeologists have uncovered as many as 17 buried pyramids in Egypt with the help of NASA satellite imagery, according to a documentary to be aired by the BBC on Monday. Led by US researcher Sarah Parcak at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the team has already confirmed two of the suspected pyramids through …

By Rania Khalil In its second year, the Cairo Mediterranean Literary Festival focused on the theme of “Literature and the City.” Designed as an opportunity for exchange between Egyptian writers and their counterparts from the Euro-Mediterranean countries, the festival hosted a series of events from May 21-25 at various cultural organizations throughout Cairo. “Last year, the …

It wasn’t part of any master plan that Steve Earle released a CD and his debut novel virtually simultaneously and with the same titles, "I’ll Never Get out of This World Alive." The novel, named for the last single released by Hank Williams before his death, took eight years of work and features Williams’ ghost …

A short walk from Tahrir Square lays the quaint open-air courtyard of the Goethe Institute, the site of Cairo’s annual Independent Film Festival. The theme of this year’s festival was “New Shorts from Egypt,” a collage of scenes from the grueling lives of the average Egyptian. Now in its 11th year, the festival, which kicked …

A portrait of a murdered activist stares from the graffiti on the wall, a slogan makes a passerby smile, a colorful pastiche turns visitors’ heads: welcome to the city where the walls talk. "Buenos Aires has become a haven for street art, like Sao Paulo and Mexico City," said Fernando Aita, one of several young …

Jean Dujardin is one of the most bankable stars in French cinema, having made his name in comedy before spreading out into more serious roles. Dujardin, who turns 39 on June 11, collected best-actor honors at Cannes on Sunday for his sparking performance as a vain fallen Hollywood star, George Valentin, in Michel Hazanavicius’s silent …

F or those unfamiliar with the event, the Venice biennale is the bi-annual Oscars for the Arts. The opportunity of being chosen to represent one’s country in the biennale is a substantial milestone in any artist’s career; winning catapults the artist to a whole new level. The Egyptian pavilion at the Venice Biennale has always been …

CAIRO: Minister of State Zahi Hawass on Monday opened to the public six ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to the Tutankhamun era, following their restoration. Hawass unveiled the tombs of Saqqara, south of Cairo, to the press saying they had been "meticulously" restored and that glass plates were used to protect the funerary frescoes. Two …

American director Terrence Malick’s expansive drama "The Tree of Life" won the top honor at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, while Kirsten Dunst took the best-actress prize for the apocalyptic saga "Melancholia." The Palme d’Or prize was accepted Sunday by two "Tree of Life" producers, Dede Gardner and Bill Pohlad, for the notoriously press-shy …

CAIRO: TEDxCairo marked the spot on Saturday, the place to be for a vibrant display of innovative ideas from an eclectic range of speakers and performers. Based on the format of TED (technology, entertainment and design) talks – conferences that take place globally to disseminate "ideas worth spreading" – the independently organized Cairo event featured …

Iranian dissident Mohammad Rasoulof won the Cannes prize for best director in the Un Certain Regard section Saturday but could not attend because of "Kafkaesque" authorities at home. Rasoulof’s wife received the prize for "Be Omid e Didar" (Goodbye) on his behalf after mounting speculation about whether the director, who is appealing a lengthy jail …

French screen legend Catherine Deneuve Saturday drew the curtain on the 64th Cannes festival with the closing film, "Beloved," a musical melodrama co-starring her daughter that drew cheers and tears. Starring Deneuve as a self-described "loose woman" who meets her first love, a Czech living in Paris, while dabbling in prostitution in the 1960s, the …

In a remote village in North Africa, women use the only weapon they have — sex — and go on a "love strike" that challenges traditional gender roles. Director Radu Mihaileanu says he sees the fictional gender revolt depicted in his new movie "The Source" as crucial to the success of popular uprisings that have …

Since the beginning of 2011, Egypt has been shaken by a social and political tidal wave that has had a profound impact on its cultural environment. From street-side cafes to cyberspace, opportunities for dialogue are expanding; ideas are shared, torn apart and reassembled. Against this backdrop, where the collective cry for change has given people …

The blood and teargas of Arab revolts filled the screen at Cannes on Wednesday, as the controversial film "18 Days" premiered during a day honoring Egypt and its revolution. The film, consisting of 10 shorts by different directors, covers the popular revolt that began on January 25 and led up to the fall of president …

By Joseph Fahim Latin American cinema came of age at the turn of the new century. Emerging filmmakers from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Peru took the art-house film world by storm over the past 11 years with watershed works such as “City of God,” “Y Tu Mamá También,” “Amores Perros,” “The Headless Woman,” “The Secret in …

LONDON: An Egyptian princess who lived more than 3,500 years ago is the oldest known person to have had clogged arteries, dispelling the myth that heart disease is a product of modern society, a new study says. To determine how common heart disease was in ancient Egypt, scientists performed computer scans on 52 mummies in …

Aki Kaurismaki’s surreal comedy about refugees in France premiered at Cannes on Tuesday, with the irreverent Finn sticking his fingers up at the irrational fear of foreigners sweeping Europe. "Le Havre", in competition for the Palme d’Or, is set in the French port of the same name and tells the story of African child migrant …

It’s a good year for women at the Cannes Film Festival. But not everyone is cheering just yet. Four of the 20 films in the festival’s main competition are by female directors, a record number — and better than last year’s total of zero. It’s still a small minority, however, and in the festival’s 64 …