The spine-chilling factor With an average revenue of LE100 thousand per day, the horror film Warda is the highest-grossing film this season. Focused on paranormal events with a video blogger hero and a no-star cast, Warda is screening across nine governorates in Egypt as well as in the UAE and Oman simultaneously. It is a social media sensation, with 117 thousand Facebook likes placing it among the five fastest growing entertainment pages in Egypt, and almost as many discussions of its striking penultimate scene. MAD Solutions, the distributor of the film, analysis has revealed that two thirds of Warda's audience are under 30, with more females than males watching the film. The film is directed by Hadi Al-Bagouri, written by Mohamed Hefzi and produced by The Producers, Film Clinic and Aroma Pictures. ♥ The Egyptian-Belgian Friendship Association, presided over by Rafik Attia, organised a celebration with the revenues reserved for the Long Live Egypt Fund in the garden of Belgian Ambassador Gilles Heyvaert's residence. Present were Giza Governor Ali Abdel-Rahman, former minister of administrative development Ahmed Darwish, Austrian Ambassador Ferdinand Maultasch, Al-Ahram writer Silvia Al-Naqadi and Head of the Garden City Lions Club Awatef Serageddin. The celebration featured an antique automobile show featuring composer-singer Farid Al-Atrash's 1940s Jaguar. ♥ Tajikistan Ambassador to Egypt Khusrav Noziri gave a reception to mark the anniversary of the passing Tajikistan's constitution. Present were Russian Ambassador Serge Kirpichenko, Chinese Ambassador Song Aiguo, Singaporean Ambassador Premjith Sadasivan, Vatican Ambassador Jean-Paul Gobel, Hungarian Ambassador Peter Kveck, Polish Ambassador Michal Murkociński, Finnish Ambassador Tuula Yrjölä, Pakistani Ambassador Manzoor Ul-Haq, Afghanistan Ambassador Fadl Al-Rahman Fadel, Armenian Ambassador Armen Melkonian and his Ecuadorian counterpart German Espionza. ♣ In an attempt to attract more European tourism to Egypt, South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda celebrated the launch of the first, biweekly flight between Georgia and Sharm Al-Sheikh. Fouda received a delegation of 40 representatives of Georgian tourism companies who arrived on a flight that also brought 100 Georgian tourists; they were welcomed at the airport with mizmar music and a Tannoura dance. ♣ In an attempt to attract more European tourism to Egypt, South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda celebrated the launch of the first, biweekly flight between Georgia and Sharm Al-Sheikh. Fouda received a delegation of 40 representatives of Georgian tourism companies who arrived on a flight that also brought 100 Georgian tourists; they were welcomed at the airport with mizmar music and a Tannoura dance. ♥ A memorial service was held at Cairo University's Faculty of Law for its late graduate, actor Khaled Saleh, in the presence of University President Gaber Nassar, Faculty Dean Omar Salem, actors Mohamed Heneidi, Amr Abdel-Gelil, Hassan Al-Raddad, Ezzat Al-Alaili, Hani Ramzi, Sabri Fawwaz, Olfat Omar, screenwriter Mahfouz Abdel-Rahman and filmmaker Khaled Youssef. ♣ Tunisian superstar and UN Goodwill Ambassador Hend Sabri was named Best Actress in the Middle East at the Dear Guest (DG) Festival for her performance in Al Gezira 2. The film previously won six awards at various events. Sabri received the same award for her role in Asmaa in 2012. Launched in 2004, the DG Festival chooses the winners based on online voting, with the audience determining the winner. ♥ The cast of Ha'et Al-Botoulat (Wall of Heroes) celebrated the first screening of the film in Egypt, at the Cairo International Film Festival, following its banning for 15 years. Present were actors Mahmoud Yassin, Ahmed Bedeir, Aida Abdel-Aziz, Ghassan Matar, Sherif Abdel-Moneim, Haggag Abdel-Azim, Ghada Ibrahim and director Mohamed Radi. ♣ The launch of Al-Ahram journalist Iman Embabi's travel book Kharbashat ala gedar al-dunia (Scribbles on the Wall of the World) was organised by Al-Haya Publishing House, managed by Emad Ashour at Beit Al-Sinnari, headed by Khaled Azab. ♥ The 25th Cairo Climate Talks on the effects of climate change on agriculture and how to counter them took place on Wednesday, reports Nesmahar Sayed. Opened by German Ambassador Hansjörg Haber, who stressed the collaboration of academics, entrepreneurs and policy-makers, the first panel featured Hani Al-Kateb, Scientific Advisor to the Egyptian President, Fares Farrag, founder and CEO of Egypt's largest aquaponics farm, Martin Keulertz, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Purdue University Department for Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mohamed Al Raei, Professor of Environmental Studies at Alexandria University and Ariane Borgstedt, Coordinator of the Egyptian-German Water Management Reform Programme. ♥ The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC), Embassy of India, organized 'India Days' celebrations at the Suez Governorate on 16 and 17 November. The event was held in cooperation with the Suez Governorate, the Suez Chamber of Commerce, the Suez University and the Cultural Palace of the governorate. Navdeep Suri, Ambassador of India, met with the Governor of Suez Major General Al Arabi Al Sarawi as well as the Chairman of Suez Chamber of Commerce to discuss the opportunities for expanding economic cooperation between India and Egypt. The meeting, at the Chamber of Commerce, was attended by about 60 Egyptian businessmen and representatives from the Indian companies, who have already invested in Suez, were also present.
