The remains of the day “See You At The Movies: Egyptian Cinema Stills, 1930s-1970s”. This is the title of latest photo exhibition organised by the Photographic Gallery in collaboration with the Rare Books and Special Collections Library at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Featuring some of the greatest stars of the Egyptian screen, these photos are either promotional material or production stills and are referred to as “the making” photographs. They were used as promotional material along with press kits sent to newspapers and magazines and often hung at the entrances of film theatres and they also served as a visual resource to recall scene details, costumes, cast make-up, background and interior decor. (see Listings p.21) ♠ Kuwaiti Ambassador to Egypt Salem Al-Zamanan and his wife Haifaa Al-Zamel gave a prestigious reception at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel marking the 52nd Kuwaiti National Day and the 22nd anniversary of the liberation of Kuwait. Present were diplomats, high profile personalities and celebrities including the Kuwaiti representative at the Arab League Aziz Al-Degani, Minister of Information Doria Sharafeddin, former prime minister Ali Lotfi, former minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowment) Hamdi Zaqzouq, former deputy prime minister Yehia Al-Gamal, actors Ezzat Al-Alaili, Hani Ramzi, Athar Al-Hakim and singer Medhat Saleh. ♥ Last Thursday, the Japanese Film Festival entitled “New Family Beginnings” was inaugurated at the Artistic Creativity Centre on the Cairo Opera House grounds, inaugurated by the director of the Japan Foundation Cairo Office Masakazu Takahashi, the director of the Japanese Culture Centre Hideaki Yamamoto and the president of the National Film Centre Kamal Abdel-Aziz. The ceremony featured a Ninja performance as well as the opening movie, The Good Husband, followed by a seminar coordinated by the theatre and film critic Mustafa Fahmi. ♣ The Ayyam Gallery Jeddah is due to hold the second edition of the Young Collectors Auction in Saudi Arabia at its space in Jeddah on 12 March. The Young Collectors Auction is the ideal setting to venture into the world of collecting with the majority of estimates well under $12,000 and many lots offered at the entry-level range of $3,000 to $5,000. The second edition of the Young Collectors Auction will feature 40 lots of painting, sculpture and limited edition prints from acclaimed and emerging artists throughout the region including Saudi Arabia. Emerging talents will be showcased alongside established artists, reflecting the Ayyam Gallery's wider commitment to strengthening the creative infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. ♠ The Chechen immigrant Belkis Baharcieva has become the first fashion designer of Islamic wear for women in Germany. Her production line of Islamic yet modern costumes designed for women in hijab is called Zabbary, a Chechen word means “funny woman.” Fresh, modern and unconventional, Baharcieva's collection offers young, modern Muslims attractive and practical alternatives to standard fashion. The designer landed in Germany as a refugee in 2001. At the age of 30, she began studying fashion design in Trier and recently set up an online fashion company. ♠ The first National Science Month, an annual celebration of science and technology in Egypt, opened on 1 March at the American University in Cairo Ewart Memorial Hall in Tahrir in the presence of Research Professor and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts Farouk Al-Baz. Science Month aims at raising awareness of science in society and everyday life. It gathers various organisations and initiatives concerned with science together with scientists with the goal of providing people of all ages with opportunities to take part in science and technology activities. ♥ Latvian Ambassador to Egypt Iveta Šulca together with Estonian Ambassador to Egypt Paul Teesalu and his Lithuanian counterpart Dainius Junevicius held a gigantic ceremony at the Cairo Marriott Hotel in Zamalek marking the 96th National Day of the Baltic States. Among the attendees were German Ambassador Michael Bock, Russian Ambassador Serge Kirpichenko, Spanish Ambassador Fidel Sendagorta, Italian Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Hungarian Ambassador Peter Kveck, Netherlands Ambassador Gerard Steeghs, Kazakhstan Ambassador Berik Aryne, Greek Ambassador Chris Lazaris, Romanian Ambassador Cornel Alecse, Chinese Ambassador Song Aiguo, Serbian Ambassador Dragon Bisenic, Lebanese Ambassador Khaled Ziyada as well as Libyan Ambassador Fayez Gebriel. ♣ The 62nd Catholic Centre for Egyptian Cinema Film Festival, directed by Father Boutros Daniel, opened with a documentary on the previous editions of the festival. In his speech Daniel said, “if politics divided society and generated contending parties, then the role of art is to unite and create harmony between people.” The speech was followed by the honouring of veteran actress Samiha Ayoub, filmmaker Said Marzouk, actor Abdel-Rahman Abu Zahra, filmmaker Samir Seif, film critic Youssef Sherif Rizkallah, veteran actress Amaal Farid (on whose behalf actress Elham Shahine received the award), actor Nour Al-Sherif, singer Ali Al-Haggar (who couldn't attend the ceremony) and singer Ghada Ragab. The special award of the Catholic Centre went to former minister of culture Farouk Hosni, with additional awards for journalist and TV presenter Mufid Fawzi and musician Rageh Dawoud. The drama awards went to actress Nelly Karim for her role in the TV series Bint Esmaha Zatt (A Girl Named Zatt) and actor Hani Salama for his role in the TV series Al-Da'ia (The Preacher). The Tunisian singer Latifa gave a stunning performance at the opening ceremony.
