Liberator of slaves The Cairo Opera Ballet Company, supervised by Erminia Kamel, along with the Cairo Opera Orchestra, conducted by Nayer Nagui, presented Aram Khachaturian's Spartacus ballet, directed by Abdel-Moneim Kamel. Sherif Sonbol was ready with his camera at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall where the ballet was performed for four consecutive days. The Egyptian-Lebanese Friendship Association (ELFA), presided over by Negad Shaarawi, hosted a thrilling seminar at the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel's Tiba Hall. The keynote speaker was head of the Capital Market Authority Samir Saleh who discussed new horizons of financial collaboration between Egypt and Lebanon. The seminar was attended by members of the Lebanese Embassy, including Hassan Shash, Ali Al-Halabi, Ghazi Nasser, Ahmed Baydoun, Omar Fayed and Mohamed El-Masri. The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC), in cooperation with Egypt-India Friendship Association (EIFA), will organise a significant lecture entitled "Down Memory Lane: The India I Know". The lecture is due to be delivered by Egypt Today magazine editor-in-chief and Al-Ahram Weekly veteran columnist Mursi Saad El-Din. Indian Ambassador to Egypt R Swaminathan and EIFA President Alieddin Hilal will give a speech on the occasion on 18 April, 6pm at the MACIC's premises in 23 Talaat Harb St, Downtown. Celebrating the onset of spring, peerless Nubian singer Mohamed Mounir rocked the stage at Smouha Club in Alexandria during a concert organised by Akhbar Al-Yom Establishment. Hundreds of Mounir 's fans flocked to enjoy his unforgettable hits, while actress Somaya El-Khashab joined Mounir and sang along with him. Stunning Lebanese singer Elissa featured in an exhilarating concert at the Stella Di Mare resort located on the North Coast. Elissa dazzled her audience with a ritzy brown dress chanting her most sought-after songs. In Cairo, a thrilling concert was held at Al-Gezira Youth Centre enlivened by popular singer Hakim and sultry Lebanese singer Miriam Faris. Antoniades Gardens in Alexandria witnessed a charitable concert enlivened by gorgeous Lebanese actress-cum-singer Serene Abdel-Nour, popular singer Hamada Hilal and singer Sandy. At the end of the concert, the cast of the film Aatei Shahn (Dead Battery), including emerging actors Shadi Shamel, singer-cum-actress Shaza, actor Omar Hassan Youssef and director Sayed Eissawi were honoured. photos: Ayman Barayez In a lavish ceremony, Moroccan Ambassador to Egypt Mohamed Farag Al-Dokali inaugurated the Moroccan Film Week at the Cairo Opera House Art Creativity Centre. The film week aimed at exposing the Moroccan cinema to the Egyptian audience. The ceremony was attended by a bevy of Moroccan luminaries and high profile figures, among them Moroccan Cultural and Media Attaché Al-Yamli Al-Mustafa, actresses Karima Al-Badawi and Sanaa Mouzian, directors Shaker Al-Halifi, Murad Abdel-Khaliq, Said Al-Hadi and Omayma Al-Dokali. Among films screened during the festival were Wo'ud Al-Ward (Promises of the Roses) and Mala'ekat Al-Shaytan (The Angels of the Devil). Magda Moussa Stadium witnessed the gathering of 385 students from four French schools in a sports day that was held at Misr Language Schools. Some 120 students participated in football and basketball competitions. According to Reda Attia, vice-president of Misr Language Schools, who supervises the French section, the four French schools -- the Lycée Balzac, the Nefertari Language Schools and the Lycée Française in Alexandria and the French Misr Language Schools -- that took part in the sports day are affiliated to the Mission Laïque Française (MLF). The event, organised for the second consecutive year, was attended by representatives from the four schools as well as Chairman of the board of the schools Ismail Osman, the educational coordinator at the French Cultural Centre Pierre Vidal, coordinator of the MLF Schools in Egypt Alain Ratiarson and manager of the international sections at Misr Languages Schools Nermeen Nada. The Freedom Messengers Network (FMN) project held its closing conference last week at the Marriott Hotel Aida Hall in Zamalek under the auspices of Culture Minister Farouk Hosni. The FMN project aims at qualifying and empowering a group of professionals from Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon working in the fields of media, journalism and filmmaking on using their professional skills for promoting the culture of human rights, dialogue, tolerance and democracy. The network started by training 60 journalists and filmmakers who produced 10 films. The FMN project is implemented by the United Group (attorneys-at-law, legal advisers and human rights advocates) in Egypt, with the support of the Rady School of Management, the University of California-San Diego, the US Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), in collaboration with the Centre for Defending the Freedom of Journalists in Jordan, the Media Training Association in Lebanon and the Al-Ahram Centre for Translation, Publication and Distribution in Egypt. The conference was attended by head of the Cinema Production Committee of Media Production City Mamdouh El-Leithi, Al-Ahram Editor-in-Chief Osama Saraya, Al-Yom Al-Sabei newspaper Chief Editor Khaled Salah as well as representatives of foreign cultural centres in Egypt. The American University in Cairo (AUC) won first place in the first International University Sports Tournament held at the American University of Beirut (AUB). During the four-day tournament, teams from 11 American universities around the world competed in basketball, volleyball, football, swimming and tennis. Second place went to host university AUB, while the Jordanian University of Science and Technology (JUST) ranked third. Seventy student athletes and six coaches represented AUC, which participated in all of the tournament's events. Chuck Gordon, AUC's director of athletics, believes that the university's winning performance reflects the calibre of training and facilities offered to AUC's student athletes. "Our students and coaches worked very hard in practice and competitions leading up to these games. Their efforts were outstanding," he said. AUC dominated all individual sports in the tournament. It won 37 medals including 23 gold, eight silver and six bronze medals. Swimming and tennis were the university's leading sports in top medal finishes. AUC teams also did well in other sports, such as women's volleyball, which won first place scoring 3-0 shutouts in all matches. Other teams also had high scores, including the women's basketball team that came in third place after a loss in the semi-final against AUB. AUC men's football and basketball teams ranked fourth among eight participating teams. AUC will be competing in the 37th Universities National Tournament with 37 other Egyptian universities. It will host many of the competitions at its new sports facilities at AUC New Cairo. More news on the American University in Cairo! the AUC Press is hosting its annual Spring Book Fair until today at the AUC Press Downtown bookstore. There are several special offers, discounts and new publications available. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid In an exceptionally glamorous ceremony, the 36th Film Association Festival presided over by Mahmoud Abdel-Samei concluded its activities. Abdel-Samei distributed the awards along with head of the Jury Committee and cinema critic Ali Abu Shadi at Cinema Cairo, Downtown. The festival honoured veteran actresses Nabila Ebeid and Ragaa Hussein, scriptwriter Mustafa Muharam, art director Mahmoud El-Maghrabi and veteran cinema critic Samir Farid. An array of cinema figures were handed festival awards, among them consummate pianist Omar Khayrat, veteran actors Mahmoud Hemeida, actresses Mona Zaki and Donia Samir Ghanem, actors Sherif Mounir and Lotfi Labib, directors Kamla Abu Zekri and Sameh Abdel-Aziz, art director Mohamed Attia, producer Sherif Mandour, graphic designer Attia Amin as well as the late talented art director Hamed Hemdan. The ceremony featured the screening of the film Telk Al-Ayam (Those Days), based on the novel of Fathi Ghanem and directed by Ahmed Fathi Ghanem in his first directing experience in cinema. The film casts Mahmoud Hemeida and Ahmed El-Fishawi.
