Faces of humour "India-Egypt: A Humorous Perspective of the Ordinary and the Extraordinary" is a thrilling caricature exhibition by gifted caricaturists Mohsen Abul-Azm and Adham Lutfi due to be inaugurated on 20 December at Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, Downtown. The exhibition features 22 portraits of famous Indian and Egyptian personalities from the worlds of politics, music, films and literature by Lutfi such as Mahatma Gandhi, Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan, late Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz, late singer-cum-actress Laila Mourad, late comedian Ismail Yassin, world renowned actor Omar Sharif, vernacular poet Ahmed Fouad Negm as well as 18 vignettes by Abul-Azm that depict meticulously Indians and Egyptians going about their daily social activities. (see Listings p.5) The International Club, presided over by Khayra Al-Fasi, wife of the Moroccan Ambassador to Egypt Mohamed Farag Al-Dokali, held the club's annual party at the Four Seasons at Nile Plaza Hotel. An array of high-profile figures attended the party including Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Hisham Al-Nazer and his wife Amira, his Indian counterpart R. Swaminathan and his wife Suchitra Durai, along with the permanent representative of Saudi Arabia at the Arab League Ahmed Al-Qattan, Egyptian former foreign minister Ahmed Maher, Laila Amr Moussa as well as honorary president of the club Hoda Maher. Actors Khaled El-Nabawi, Yossra, Laila Elwi, Ghada Abdel-Razeq, Somaya El-Khashab also attended. The party was brought to life by the Riff band playing jazz music and finished off with a beautiful fashion show featuring clothing created by the highly esteemed Egyptian designer Hani El-Beheiri. At the historically significant Amir Taz Palace located in Al-Sioufiya Street in Al-Khalifa district, the lavish signing ceremony of Oxford University board of trustees member Mohamed bin Eissa Al-Gaber 's book titled Arabs Are Also Coming took place. A galaxy of dignitaries attended the ceremony, such as Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, head of the People's Assembly Foreign Relations Committee Mustafa El-Feki, Al-Ahram Editor-in-Chief Osama Saraya, Rose Al-Youssef newspaper Editor-in-Chief Abdallah Kamal, head of the General Egyptian Book Organisation (GEBO) Mohamed Saber Arab, Al-Ahram Nisf Al-Donia magazine Chief Editor Afkar El-Kharadli, novelist Khayri Shalabi and publisher Mohamed Rashad. Once again gifted artist Britt Boutros Ghali awed her fans with her new exhibition titled Women of My World, jointly inaugurated by head of the National Council for Human Rights Boutros Boutros - Ghali and gallerist Ibrahim Picasso at Picasso Gallery in Zamalek. The inauguration was crowded by a plethora of Arab and foreign plastic artists and an array of Arab and foreign ambassadors as well. A lavish contract signing and a press conference were held last week for the film Al-Tareeq Ela Darfur (The Way to Darfur) at Semiramis InterContinental Hotel. The idea of the film is Said Hamid 's who is also directing the film scripted by Nasser Mahmoud, yet the stars who will participate in the film haven't yet been announced. Hamid will begin the shooting of the film soon across several countries including Egypt, Sudan, England, France and Belgium, while the film will discuss the ongoing fighting in Darfur. World renowned actor Omar Sharif, comedians Mohamed Heneidi, Ashraf Abdel-Baqi, Talaat Zakaria, Alaa Moursi and talented actor Mohamed Ramadan were among the attendees. An exciting book signing was held for the new released collection of poems under the title Nabi Bela Atbaa (Messenger without Cohorts) for actor Khaled El-Sawi at Diwan Bookstore in Zamalek. El-Sawi is a talented actor who recently embarked on the road of poetry. His new collection contains 40 poems. El-Sawi presented the collection in spontaneous and simple language, telling the story of a messenger who has no followers and who consequently thinks his message has no value. Under the auspices of Information Minister Anas El-Fiqi, a conference was held discussing the possibility of Egypt's membership in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) that organises the most prestigious festival around the world, the Emmy Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel. The conference was attended by high-profile personalities, among them President of Sawt Al-Qahera radio Ibrahim El-Aqabawi, television producer Ahmed Abu Bakr, President of the Academy of ATAS Bruce Paisner, Vice-President of ATAS Camille Baderman, Cultural Councillor at the American Embassy Heinz Mahony as well as Egyptian celebrities such as actresses Tayseer Fahmi, Soheir El-Morshedi, Amal Rizq, actor Tamer Hagras, script writer Safaa Amer and director Ahmed Yehia. Syrian writer Khalil Sweileh received this year's Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for his novel Waraq Al-Hobb (The Scribe of Love) in an impressive awards ceremony at the American University in Cairo (AUC) in the presence of the jury, AUC Press President Mark Linz and an audience of journalists. Sweileh was presented with a silver medal bearing the image of Mahfouz, a cash prize of $1,000 and an English translation and publication of his book by the AUC press. The ceremony was also attended by US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey, head of the Egyptian Publishers Union Ibrahim El-Muallim, AUC Press Promotion Manager Nabila Aql and Al-Ahram Weekly 's very own talented caricaturist George Bahgory. "In my official function as well as a private person, I would like to thank you for your work and commitment that have always been directed at enhancing the relations between our two countries. Your contribution towards bilateral cultural German-Egyptian relations has been outstanding, solid and sustainable." With these words Germany's Ambassador in Cairo, Michael Bock decorated Egypt's renowned German Literature Professor Alia Khattab, with the prestigious German Order of Merit. It was bestowed by the Federal German President, Horst Köhler, on Khattab for her immense contribution into the high reputation of the German studies at Egyptian universities. Addressing a large number of dignitaries attending this occasion, Bock described Khattab as a cultural bridge-builder who, apart from dedicating her life to being an ambassador for German studies and Germany as a whole, worked as a diplomat in the real sense of the word, as she served at the Egyptian Embassy in Berlin from 1994 to 1998, and again from 2002 to 2005, where she focussed on the promotion of German-Egyptian academic cooperation and exchange. Last Monday, Bock held a press conference at his residence in Zamalek to meet with Egyptian press. It was his first encounter with Egyptian journalists since he assumed his duties as Germany's ambassador to Egypt. It was a fruitful meeting where he answered several questions on delicate political issues. He also expressed his privilege to reinforce the Egyptian-German relations on the economic, cultural and educational levels. Stars gathered from around the world for the inauguration ceremony of the Sixth Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). The event featured the screening of the musical film Nine, the film that gathered a galaxy of Hollywood stars such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Sofia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson and Gudi Dench, and was directed by Rob Marshall. The festival honoured Indian veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan for his thriving cinematic career. Festival President Abdel-Hamid Gomaa stated that the festival chose 168 films from 55 different countries around the world. The evening was crowded with a large number of Hollywood and Arab stars. Among the Hollywood stars were Gerald Butler, Christopher Lambert, Matt Dillon, Mandy Moore, and world renowned Omar Sharif, while the evening was crowned by the presence of Queen Nour, spouse of the late Jordanian King Hussein. Among the Arab stars were Ragaa El-Geddawi, Elham Shahin, Nelly Karim, Athar El-Hakim, Somaya El-Khashab, Donia Samir Ghanem and Abeer Sabri, veteran comedian Samir Ghanem, actors Fathi Abdel-Wahab, Khaled El-Sawi and Khaled Abul-Naga, veteran actor Mustafa Fahmi and his wife actress Rania Farid Shawqi, director Kamla Abu-Zekri, media figure Hala Sarhan and TV presenter Poussy Shalabi.
