An Austrian first-time director defended his chilling Cannes entry about the relationship between a pedophile and his prey which shocked audiences and sharply divided critics. The plot of "Michael," one of 20 contenders for the festival’s top prize, has strong parallels to the story of Natascha Kampusch, the Austrian girl kept locked in a cellar …

The latest Cannes Film Festival entry from Belgium’s Dardenne brothers is the story of an abandoned boy, his unlikely savior and his beloved bicycle. "The Kid With a Bike" tells the alternately brutal and tender tale of 11-year-old Cyril, left in a children’s home by his feckless father; Samantha, a hairdresser who almost by accident …

Egyptians can’t seem to get enough of the Jan. 25 Revolution. However, the approach adopted to support it can sometimes be a bit naive: many believe that to be a revolutionary, one must be radical and brash; that the call for change needs to be addressed in an uncompromisingly dictating tone. In that vein, creative …

US director Terrence Malick’s "The Tree of Life" finally got to Cannes on Monday, where it divided festival-goers with its spectacular visuals but cerebral, religious and very American storyline. Loud boos clashed with respectful applause at the end of a morning press screening for one of the most highly-anticipated entries at the world’s biggest film …

By Rania Khalil Downtown art exhibit “Le Caire Mon Amour” is a collection of painting, performance and installation in an abandoned apartment on 7 Champillion St. It is the brainchild of French born, Cairo-based painter Anne du Boistesselin. Envisioned as a series of three openings in three consecutive weeks, the exhibit seems to be neither about …

According to a provocative new documentary at the Cannes Film Festival, Britain’s royals are racist "gangsters in tiaras" and Prince Philip is a womanizing psychopath. The movie "Unlawful Killing" revives claims that Princess Diana — adored by millions as the "people’s princess" but viewed in royal circles as an embarrassing loose cannon — was murdered …

Everybody at Cannes is talking about "We Need to Talk about Kevin," and director Lynne Ramsay is not surprised at the strong reaction. It is, after all, about a teenager who commits a school massacre, and his mother’s bottomless grief. Some are calling it wrenching, or bleak, or poetic. But Ramsay can’t understand why anyone …

Currently showing at Mashrabia Gallery is an exhibition titled "In Visible Cities" by Damon Kowarsky. As the first show I attend that does not speak of the January 25 Revolution, "In Visible Cities" was a refreshing break and a genuinely interesting step into how art can make one think of the current events without being …

Riding the wave of the Arab Spring, Egyptian film star Khaled Abol Naga and his international backers have launched a revolutionary bid to bring quality Arab cinema to the global market. Kicking off at the Cannes film festival, Pacha Pictures aims to be the place to go for Arab "auteur" cinema, for which Abol Naga …

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has vanished. But look around, and he seems to be everywhere. More than a month after one of China’s best-known contemporary artist was arrested while trying to board a flight to Hong Kong, his name, his face and his art have popped up across the globe. China’s communist rulers have steadfastly …

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he will not watch a new film about his rise to power because to do so would be narcissistic but he also can’t bear criticism. "I have certainly no desire to see ‘Conquest’," he told arts magazine Telerama, referring to the political thriller produced by the brothers Eric and Nicolas …

The Cannes film festival got off to a glittering start, paying homage to the creator of "Last Tango in Paris" before sitting back to enjoy "Midnight in Paris." "I declare the Cannes festival open," said Bernardo Bertolucci in Italian and French, after French actress Melanie Laurent, the evening’s master of ceremonies, invited the Italian director …

Archaeologists on Wednesday began digging for the remains of a 16th-century woman believed to be the model for Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa in a bid to unlock an art world mystery. The team of historians says they will try to find the remains using geo-radar equipment and then try to re-create a likeness of …

A classic early film known for its iconic black-and-white images has been "resurrected" from the dead — and spruced up in full color — to be screened at the Cannes film festival. "Le Voyage dans la Lune" ("A Trip to the Moon") by Georges Méliès was to be presented at the start of the French …

At 23 years of age, Ramy Essam admits “I’m very young for what happened to me.” He is possibly referring to the torture and brutality he experienced during and after the January 25 Revolution, but also to the responsibility he has come to assume as the voice of Tahrir Square. When Daily News Egypt met …

At age 88, author Paula Fox is the settled survivor of a disrupted life. She was abandoned as an infant, frequently moved through much of her childhood, a teen mother who gave up her daughter for adoption, a witness to the devastation of post-World War II Europe, and the public and private breakdowns of New …

BAGHDAD: Crooning of love, Iraq’s most famous singer returned to Baghdad on Monday after 14 years abroad to be named a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations children’s fund, UNICEF. Kazim Al-Saher said as a Goodwill Ambassador, he would inspect villages and schools. "I will visit villages to help the children who study in mud …

WASHINGTON: Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who became a hero of Egypt’s anti-government uprising, has signed a deal with a US publisher to write a book, "Revolution 2.0." Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said Monday that it has secured the rights to Ghonim’s book, which it said will tell the "inside story of the Egyptian revolution and …

By Joseph Fahim One of the last performances I watched at the 14th European Theater Prize last month was a children’s play entitled “Happiness” by Russian director Andrey Moguchiy. Based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s classic tale “The Blue Bird,” “Happiness” was a feast of the eye, exploring children’s fears through a series of fantastical sequences realized via …

With a well-received selection of films, Robert De Niro steering the jury and a galaxy of stars awaited on the Croisette, this year’s Cannes film festival is promising to be among the liveliest ever. The 64th edition of the world’s biggest film festival opens Wednesday on the French Riviera with the out-of-competition premiere of Woody …

By Chitra Kalyani Be warned — when you ask Mashrou’ Leila about their name, the Lebanese band will not give a straight answer. They’re a bit tricky, and might just spin you a yarn from A Thousand and One Nights. On their first night in Cairo, Al-Azhar Park’s Geneina Theater was packed in preparation, audiences clutching …

What should be said at the outset of this review is that it is a biased one. I am in fact a deep admirer of late American pop star Michael Jackson. I remember quite vividly my classmates in primary school in the 80s joining the craze that MJ had set upon the world with the …

Nigeria’s most talked-about hip-hop video exhibits all the excesses of its American counterparts — beautiful, scantily clad models, a mansion and a bathtub full of hundred-dollar bills. But the biggest surprise? America’s own Snoop Dogg playing back up to Nigerian star D’banj, embracing him as his nephew and taking a Nigerian passport before leaving the …

As Baghdad writhed with violence in 2006, Emad Ali set out to make a film about the iconic Shabandar Cafe. But he turned the camera on himself after the teahouse was bombed, a deadly mortar killed his wife and a gunman shot him three times. Despite the ordeals, he finished "A candle for the Shabandar …

Who says Broadway won’t take a risk? "The Book of Mormon" and "The Scottsboro Boys" — two very different musicals with very different fates — have emerged with the most Tony Award nominations this season. "Mormon," which induces giggles with its diarrhea jokes and songs about body parts, and "Scottsboro," a searing look at a …

Moammar Qaddafi pumping petrol into a winged camel, Qaddafi with the tail of a snake and a forked tongue, Qaddafi as Dracula. The flamboyant Libyan strongman is fuelling a flourishing cartoon caricature scene in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Those are just a few of the themes produced by a group of young artists who …

CAIRO: Egypt will make a formal request to Germany for the return of the 3,400 year-old bust of fabled Queen Nefertiti, the state minister for antiquities said on Tuesday. Zahi Hawass said a letter would be sent to Germany to demand the return of the Nefertiti bust, nearly a century after it was uncovered on …

Contemporary dancers are finding their feet in the Arab world, as the art form renowned for freedom of expression blossoms at a time of regional upheaval. "Over the past few years, Arab contemporary dance has been blossoming," said Omar Rajeh, organizer of the just-ended Beirut International Platform of Dance (BIPOD), which hosted over 20 choreographers …

“I don’t pretend to have very strong political positions,” singer Emel Mathlouthi, the Tunisian element in Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy’s Ramadan nights last year, said. “But I try to talk about what I’m feeling: freedom.” This year another Tunisian, Abir Nasraoui, was invited to perform as part of the Spring Fest themed “Music, Freedom, and Social Justice.” …

A welcome sense of optimism pervaded the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival. After several years of gloomy prospects for independent film, filmmakers and audiences seemed buoyed by the hope of new technologies leading viewers to worthy movies. "The field has been completely leveled," said writer-director Edward Burns at the closing night screening of his "The …