Every once in a while, a work of art comes along that compels you to reassess your views about a given medium and the possibilities it offers. A prime example is Russian theater production “Three Sisters,” presented at the 14th European Theater Prize, which concluded its activities last week in St. Petersburg, Russia. Directed by …

By Chitra Kalyani To recall Spain is perhaps to use too modern a name; one must recall the Iberian peninsula, Andalusia and Aragon, to evoke the intermingling of traditions that brought forth the music revisited on Friday at Cairo Opera House’s Open Air Theater. Since its inception in 1992, the Accentus Austria Ensemble has studied and …

PARIS: Arab cinema powerhouse Egypt, which in January rose up in revolt to topple president Hosni Mubarak, will become the Cannes Film Festival’s first guest country at this year’s event. Festival organizers said on Thursday that they hoped to make the invitation of a guest country a tradition for future events after the 64th edition …

Sequels are usually more easily found at summer multiplexes than prestigious film festivals, but this year’s Tribeca Film Festival abounds in unusual follow-ups and intriguing companion pieces. None of these films bears a Roman numeral or (for the most part) recurring punch lines. Instead, these atypical sequels offer different perspectives and left-turn digressions for familiar …

On Wednesday evening, emerging filmmakers received long overdue recognition from Egypt’s Minister of Culture and leading figures in the industry for their work on short documentaries chronicling different aspects of the January 25 Revolution. Mona Iraqi took first prize for “Friday of Departure,” while “A Revolution Story” by Nagy Ismail took second place and Ahmed …

MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s antiquities authority said Wednesday it had returned a 4,000-year-old statue to Egypt five years after it was first detected by customs agents. The National Institute of Archaeology and History (INAH) said the "invaluable" 15-centimeter (six-inch) statuette was carved in southern Egypt during the Middle Kingdom, which ruled the Nile from 2055 BC …

By Chitra Kalyani Springtime wafts in heady with perfume and love, but this year belies a strong hint of Jasmine. Geneina Theater, nestled in a slope at the Azhar Park, prepared for a concert as the revolution that swept across the region is still brewing. Mawred El-Thaqafy’s Spring Festival opened on Friday with an overtly political …

Libyan rebel fighter Jaad Jumaa Hashmi cranks up the volume on his pickup truck’s stereo when he heads into battle against Moammar Qaddafi’s forces. He looks for inspiration from a growing cadre of amateur rappers whose powerful songs have helped define the revolution. The music captures the anger and frustration young Libyans feel at decades …

Book dealer Ken Sanders has seen a lot of nothing in his decades appraising "rare" finds pulled from attics and basements, storage sheds and closets. Sanders, who occasionally appraises items for PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, often employs the "fine art of letting people down gently." But on a recent Saturday while volunteering at a fundraiser for …

Russia’s venerable Bolshoi Theater — which survived fires, a Nazi bombing and Lenin’s order to close it down — is almost ready to reopen after years of reconstruction and will look just as it did during the czarist era. The theater will be finished in October in its original 19th-century design, with restored czarist insignia, …

The psychologist’s schedule was already filled with shattered children when she sat down with the parents of an eight-year-old who had been sexually assaulted by a 12-year-old relative. She wouldn’t be able to see their son for another four days, but didn’t want to send the couple home to him empty-handed. So Marita Rademeyer gave …

Egypt’s revolution was the catalyst for an outpouring of artistic inspiration by local and foreign artists alike. Two current exhibitions in Cairo capture the spirit of the post-revolutionary artistic scene. Egyptian artist Farid Fadel’s “Here is Cairo” and Spain-born painter Xavier Puigmarti’s “Wireless” explore themes from Egypt’s revolution in different, yet complementary ways. A long …

Organizers of the Booker Prize have recognized often-nominated Beryl Bainbridge with a posthumous "best of" award. The special prize, which pitted Bainbridge’s five Booker-nominated books against each other in a "Best of Beryl" competition, went to "Master Georgie," a 1998 novel set during the Crimean War. The prize’s literary director Ion Trewin called Bainbridge a …

French actress Marion Cotillard will join Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the cast of "The Dark Knight Rises," the finale to the recent Batman film series, Warner Brothers said Tuesday. The film reunites the actors with Christopher Nolan, who recently directed them in the popular film "Inception." "When you collaborate with people as talented as Marion and …

Veteran French director Andre Techine will rub shoulders with young and unknown filmmakers at the Directors’ Fortnight during the Cannes film festival that opens May 11, organizers said on Tuesday. Artistic director Frederic Boyer has selected 25 films, of which eight are first offerings that could end up winning the coveted Camera d’Or for a …

Feted for a career that has spanned 40 films and a half-century, Claude Lelouch voices one nagging regret: that he never made a Hollywood movie. Artistic differences, the French filmmaker told AFP in an interview, stood in the way of that, although he professes a profound love for America, where he made two of his …

CAIRO: The Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression condemned in a statement the decision to ban copies of Ibrahim Farghali’s novel, “Abnaa Al-Gabalawy” (Sons of Al-Gabalawy), from reentering Egypt when shipped back from Abu Dhabi Book Fair, saying it violates the principles of the January 25 Revolution. In its statement, the Association of Freedom …

Jennifer Egan’s inventive novel about the passage of time, "A Visit from the Goon Squad," won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction Monday, honored for its "big-hearted curiosity about cultural change at warp speed." Egan, 48, has been highly praised for her searching and unconventional narratives about modern angst and identity. Her other novels include "The …

Local interest in Turkish culture has grown steadily in recent years, prompted in large part by the popularity of dubbed Turkish soap operas such as Nour on satellite television. The Turkish government’s increasingly Middle East-focused political stance has also bolstered the country’s standing in the region, leading to increased appetite for more information about this …

Kafka’s classic “The Metamorphosis” has been subjected to countless interpretations over the years. Few have strayed away from the original text, there’s simply nothing much to add to an already perfect work. A heavy reworking of Kafka’s vision would instantly be deemed sacrilegious. In a new adaptation, which premiered last week at the European Theater …

America’s bestselling author of "Three Cups of Tea," an inspiring account of building schools in Afghanistan, fought for his reputation Monday after a report said he’d made up much of the story. Greg Mortenson’s book has sold more than four million copies and become required reading at the Pentagon, which sees the attempt to bring …

Audiences flocked to theaters to see tropical bird comedy "Rio," knocking fellow kid-flick "Hop" off its perch to score the best debut weekend of the year, industry data showed Sunday. The 3-D cartoon, about pet macaw Blu — voiced by "Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg — who bolts from chilly climes to the beaches of …

Articulate Baboon opened its latest show in its Designopolis gallery space entitled “30 Hosnis” by Ali Ali, a new emerging artist. Ali is the man who created the Egyptian Panda brand cheese advertisements in 2010 that were wildly successful for their hilarity. The videos of the ad went viral, becoming a Youtube sensation and the …

Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar said Friday his new movie which will take part at the Cannes Film Festival next month is unlike any other film which he has made so far. The movie, "La Piel Que Habito" (The Skin I Live In) starring Antonio Banderas, is a tale of revenge centered on a plastic …

By Mariam Hamdy During the last couple of years of my work as an art critic and writer, I have had a rather sinister belief on the edge of my thoughts. Having brushed it off time and again in an attempt to remain optimistic and hopeful, the thought has been threatening to be realized as a …

Like many on the local creative scene, the team at Eklego, an innovative Cairo-based interior design, furniture and architecture firm best-known for their work on the SODIC sales center, has found the spirit of the January 25 Revolution an irresistible inspiration for new creations. In a new initiative, Design for Egypt, Eklego’s team has combined …

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar’s "The Skin That I Inhabit" and US director Terrence Malick’s "Tree of Life" are among 19 films competing at the 64th Cannes Film Festival, organizers said Thursday. Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier’s "Melancholia" was also selected from a total 1,715 films considered, Thierry Fremaux, who heads the festival’s selection panel, told …

The medical drama “Lahazat Harega” (Critical Moments) has already started rolling its cameras for its run into the third season. Produced by Dubai-based Outlook Entertainment , “Lahazat” is the first medical drama made in the Middle East. The drama features many TV and movie notables donning the blue or green scrubs. The star cast includes …

Five thousand years of fascinating history lie beneath the sands of the Gaza Strip, from blinded biblical hero Samson to British general Allenby. The flat, sandy lands on the Mediterranean’s southeastern shore have been ruled by Ancient Egyptians, Philistines, Romans, Byzantines and Crusaders. Alexander the Great besieged the city. Emperor Hadrian visited. Mongols raided Gaza, …

In the swirling story that permeates the series "The Unwritten," the protagonist Tom Taylor is enveloped by the uncertain fear that exploits of boy wizard Tommy Taylor might be more than just stories loved by millions. Rather, Tom and Tommy might be one and the same, separated only by the porous boundary of reality intersecting …