Recent studies on reading in the Arab world have shown a drastic decline in those picking up books and newspapers in their free time, and Egyptians, young people in particular, have frequently come out near the bottom in Arab readership rankings. There’s nothing like a revolution to spark people’s thirst for knowledge, and nothing like …

Cairo and jazz have settled into a comfortable handshake. Opening at El-Sawy Culture Wheel on Thursday, the Cairo Jazz Festival saw audiences and artists — both local and international — intermingling in an air of warmth with understated jubilation and confidence. “People are celebrating freedom,” festival director Amro Salah told Daily News Egypt. It is …

  For 10 extraordinary days in June, Toronto’s stages, streets, and public spaces are illuminated with arts and creativity. Luminato is an annual multi-disciplinary celebration of theater, dance, music, literature, food, visual arts, fashion, film, and more. Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, has announced the Festival’s 2011 Literature and Illuminations programs, including the …

A half-billion-dollar effort to showcase Iraq’s holiest Shia city to the world is coming down to the wire as many contracts remain unsigned and funds are being hastily re-allocated. Preparations for Najaf to become the Arab world’s Islamic Capital of Culture next year are underway, but officials involved in its planning admit that time is …

In the long history of Egyptian cinema, experimental film has always been a rarity, overlooked by critics and ignored by art-house audiences. Produced in early 1970s, Nagy Shaker’s experimental film “Sayf Sab‘een” (Summer 70), was one of the few Egyptian attempts in the realm of avant-garde cinema and is now regarded as one of the …

PARIS: The United Nations cultural body UNESCO on Tuesday voiced growing concern for Egypt’s archaeological sites and museums, which it said were threatened by pillaging since the country’s revolution. "We’re getting new alarming reports from different sites and museums," UNESCO head Irina Bukova told a meeting on fighting the international illegal trade in artifacts at …

Acclaimed Polish film director Andrzej Wajda hailed the movie debut of Czech freedom icon and ex-president Vaclav Havel, saying it fitted in to a fine tradition. "Czech cinema has always been full of surprises for us," Wajda, 85, told AFP. "Right from the start, they didn’t make political films, but films about people who find …

Two young Libyans whose rap music is broadcast to the front line by rebel Benghazi radio hope they are helping to maintain the morale of fighters outgunned by Muammar Qaddafi’s forces. "Rap does not physically change things, but it invigorates the soul of people fighting and sends a message to all Libyans," said 16-year-old Imad …

Amro Salah is at Taboula restaurant shaking hands with local and visiting musicians during a pre-festival dinner. He is the organizer of the 2011 Cairo International Jazz Festival and the musicians he is welcoming are from Austria. Amro is better known as the leader of oriental jazz group Eftekasat and the Cairo Jazz Festival is …

Tom Waits went for laughs, Alice Cooper for shock value, Leon Russell was quietly humble and Neil Diamond may still be talking following their induction Monday into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The acts were joined by New Orleans piano maestro Dr. John and "Wall of Sound" singer Darlene Love at the annual …

Sean Penn and Robert De Niro joined stars who appeared at the UN headquarters for the US premiere of a contested movie on the Middle East conflict that Israel tried to get cancelled. Penn, De Niro, Josh Brolin and Steve Buscemi on Monday turned out to support award-winning American-Jewish director Julian Schnabel at the premiere …

By Caroline Curran The Jan. 25 Revolution made artists out of many, especially those who brought a camera along. Just weeks on, some of these photographs have been collected in an outstanding exhibition at the Cairo Opera House Art Gallery. Organized in just a week by curator and photographer Mohamed Mahran with support from donors including …

Legendary jazz drummer Joe Morello, whose virtuosity and command of odd time signatures made him an integral part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet on such classic recordings as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk," has died at age 82. Family members said Morello died Saturday at his home in northern New Jersey. A …

Censors have cleared Bob Dylan to make his China debut despite worries that the country’s authoritarian government would block his planned shows given the American folk icon’s antiestablishment reputation. China’s Ministry of Culture said in a notice posted on its website Thursday that Dylan will be allowed to perform in Beijing between March 30 and …

"Conversations with Scorsese" (Knopf), by Richard Schickel: Whether you agree that Martin Scorsese is the greatest filmmaker of his generation, there can be little argument that he’s the most loquacious. His presence in documentaries and on video commentaries about movies, his own and those of others, can seem as ubiquitous as that of film critic …

  In part two of our interview with Anne Consigny, the acclaimed French actress delves more into her career and a new collaboration with iconic French filmmaker Alain Resnais.   Consigny’s third César nomination came in last year with Lucas Belvaux’s gripping thriller “Rapt.” Based on a true story, the film charts the physical and …

She’s the patient secretary aiding the paralyzed editor of Vogue to write his memoir in Julian Schnabel’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly;” the conflicted, self-absorbed daughter of Catherine Deneuve in Arnaud Desplechin’s “Un conte de Noël;” André Dussollier’s sympathetic wife in Alain Resnais’ “Les herbes folles;” the courageous headmistress in Florian Gallenberger’s wartime drama …

A group exhibition, “To Egypt with Love,” is the newest presentation organized by Safar Khan Gallery showcasing the photographic talents of three young artists: Alaa Taher, Hossam Hassan and Bassem Samir.   Each artist has managed to capture moments during the 18 days of the January 25 Revolution from a multitude of perspectives. Most of …

An epic French documentary about the Holocaust, dubbed into Farsi, is to be broadcast on a satellite channel in Iran as part of a campaign to promote understanding between Jews and Muslims and to fight Holocaust denial. Filmmaker Claude Lanzmann’s renowned nine-plus-hour film "Shoah" includes testimony from concentration camp survivors and employees about the slaughter …

WASHINGTON: A US publisher plans to come out with a book next month featuring a collection of Twitter messages sent during the protests in Egypt that led to the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak. The 160-page book, "Tweets from Tahrir," named for the Cairo square at the epicenter of the anti-government protests, is to be …

A Moroccan film about rape and incest of a young woman by her father who believes she is demon-possessed scooped the top honors at Africa’s biggest film festival. "Pegase" (Pegasus) by Mohamed Mouftakir from Morocco, late Saturday won the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, the grand prize of the Pan African Film Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) …

Director Michael Wadleigh, sometimes spelled Wadley, is best known for his classic Oscar-winning documentary about the 1969 Woodstock music festival. Wadleigh spoke at the American University in Cairo’s new campus on Sunday about his current work with the Homo Sapiens Report, an organization working with UNESCO to promote sustainable development. The Homo Sapiens Report is …

By Caroline Curran Creativity and culture in Cairo managed to thrive in spite of the repressive atmosphere that reigned before recent events opened a new chapter in Egypt’s history. Post-revolution cultural life is a blank page, ready to be filled with expression inspired by recent events. Thursday evening’s “Up on the Roof” open stage night …

A judge in Mexico City ordered authorities to temporarily halt screenings of an acclaimed documentary about the failings of Mexico’s justice system after a prosecution witness who appears in the film alleged that his privacy rights were violated. The ruling is the latest round in a heated debate over reform of Mexico’s secretive, antiquated justice …

After vowing to avoid the meaningless coronation of the over-praised and the undeserved that is the Academy Awards telecast, I imprudently succumbed to temptation in the hope of seeing my second favorite American film of 2010, David Fincher’s “The Social Network,” beat the odds, make history and win the best picture Oscar. Predictably, it didn’t, …

Africa’s biggest film festival hands out its top award Saturday after a week of viewing works tackling some of the continents pressing issues against the backdrop of the Arab world uprisings. The inclusion of two films from Egypt, among 18 standing for the Pan African Film Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) grand prize, has new relevance …

In an old factory in the underprivileged neighborhood of Ard El-Lewa, Shady El-Noshokaty is building a space for local art students to continue learning and growing as artists after graduation. The former Biennale winner and famed painter turned multimedia artist plans to launch the Nokoshaty Foundation in March — but will need to find time …

Brazil’s famous Carnival celebration may steal the world’s attention, but an equally riveting spectacle in Bolivia this week melds indigenous and Christian traditions, and has the devil at the center of the action. Bolivia’s Carnival of Oruro is second only to that of Rio de Janeiro among the world’s riotous celebrations in the days preceding …

Students at the Bialik-Rogozin school in a rundown Tel Aviv neighborhood have survived genocide, war and famine. But they were all smiles on Monday after learning that a documentary about their plight had won an Academy Award. "Strangers No More" puts a human face on Israel’s absorption of African migrants — an issue that has …

The fact that Maroon 5 are the first international band to perform in Egypt after the revolution is very fitting. Although not as political as big rock bands like U2, Coldplay or Pink Floyd, Maroon 5 are no strangers to politics. With their hit song “Makes me Wonder” aimed at reflecting their frustration with US …