Jazz it up Music is arguably the most popular form of artistic expression today. It has always represented a "live" connection between the Arab region and Europe, with music tunes, themes and instruments travelling in both directions over the years. The Jazz Factory is a unique celebration of European and Arab music that Cairo will host for the first time from 5 to 14 November, reports Reham El-Adawi. At the press conference held last Sunday at the Garden City Club, the programme of the festival was presented by its artistic director Peter Lipa from Slovakia, its artistic advisor Fathi Salama, and Director of Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafi (The Culture Resource) Basma El-Husseini among others. The Jazz Factory is an initiative by the European Commission's delegation to Egypt, together with the embassies of Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, the United Kingdom and France in cooperation with the Egyptian Tourism Authority and Culture Ministry. For its part the respected Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafi will help with the organisation of the festival and support the participation of a number of distinguished musicians from the Arab region. The event will include highly accomplished music groups and musicians from 11 European countries as well as groups from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco and Palestine that play a diverse range of musical styles, from traditional jazz to jazz flamenco, oriental, Afro-Cuban and experimental jazz. The concerts will be spread over diverse venues in Cairo including the Manial Palace, Manasterly Palace, Amir Taz Palace, Al-Genena Theatre, Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel and the Arab Music Institute. Every evening, throughout the 10-day festival, there will be concerts featuring three or four of these groups, aiming to attract a wide audience of young Egyptians, as well as visitors to Cairo and foreign tourists. The Jazz Factory late night jazz club under the title "After Hours" will open every night at 11pm from 6 to 14 November. For membership cards or detailed information call 010 601 7932/ 7928. ( see Listings p.3 ) photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid Gorgeous Lebanese diva Elissa and singer Fadl Shaker held a thrilling concert at the Cairo Opera House Park Space Theatre last week. More than 12,000 people spent their evening enjoying their powerful voices and popular songs. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano paid a visit to the Italian hospital in Abassiya, Cairo during his visit to Egypt. Napolitano was welcomed by hospital manager Eshaq Latif as he checked out the hospital units and inaugurated the heart care unit. He was accompanied by Minister of Transportation Mohamed Mansour, Italian Ambassador to Egypt Claudio Pacifico, Egyptian Ambassador to Italy Ashraf Rashed and a number of the hospital's physicians. On the occasion of celebrating Ukranian Independence Day, Ukrainian Ambassador to Egypt Yevhen Mykytenko and his wife held a lavish reception at their residence. A galaxy of ambassadors to Egypt including Ambassador of Switzerland Charles Held and his wife, Ambassador of Russia Mikhail Bogdanov, Ambassador of Spain Antonio Martinez, Ambassador of Poland Jan Natkansky and his Belgian counterpart Daniel Leroy were present. photos: Ayman Barayez Under the auspices of Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, a celebration was held at the Cairo Opera House's Small Hall to mark the centennial anniversary of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Egypt. Among the participants were Minister of Higher Education and State for Scientific Research Hani Hilal, head of the General Organisation of Urban Harmony Samir Gharib, Dean of the Egyptian Academy in Rome Ashraf Reda and deputy head of the National Organisation for Urban Harmony Soheir Hawass. As part of the Défilé D'Egypte activities, inaugurated by head of the Arab Economic Union Council Ahmed El-Goweili, a fashion show by German designer Barbie Swedan was organised at Khufu Hall in the Cairo International Conference Centre. Swedan presented 60 cocktail and wedding gowns, part of her 2009 collection. A plethora of businessmen and professors at the Faculty of Fine Arts including architect Salah Diab, Medhat El-Dora, Moetaz Raslan and Sami Abdel-Aziz applauded the designs of young architects including those of Shady Abdel-Moneim Said and Mohamed Fouad, who presented unique designs and left a strong impression in the field of interior design. Their work was shown in a number of venues across Cairo including five-star hotels and press establishments. At Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Giza, a seminar was held commemorating the 155th death anniversary of the world- renowned painter Vincent Van Gogh. Head of the Central Department of Museums and Art Exhibitions at the Ministry of Culture Salah El-Meligui, director of Mahmoud Khalil Museum Reem Bahir and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Minya University Sayed El-Qamash all gave speeches explaining how Van Gogh 's paintings became so famous and expensive all around the world. Fonda at the MEIFF Shahine, Yossra, El-Emari Deneuve Sarandon At the closing ceremony of the Second Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF), Egyptian cinema had the lion's share of prizes as it collected $75,000 in total. Veteran actress Elham Shahine won the prize for best actress for her role in Khaltet Fawzya (Fawzya's Recipe) directed by Magdy Ahmed Ali. Another Egyptian film participating in the festival was Zai Al-Naharda (Like Today), starring actress Basma and actor Ahmed El-Feshawi and directed by Amr Salama. The festival counted on the attendance of international cinematic celebrities including renowned actresses Jane Fonda and Susan Sarandon as well as French beauty Catherine Deneuve. The festival featured the screening of the new film, Body of Lies, starring talented actors Leonardo Di Caprio and Russell Crowe, directed by Ridley Scott. German Ambassador to Cairo Bernd Erbel hosted a musical evening where Bach, Beethoven and Brahms met as some of their works were masterfully played by violinist Michael Jelden and pianist Maki Hayashida. Addressing a group of distinguished dignitaries attending the concert, Erbel voiced his pleasure that the German State Minister for Foreign Affairs Guenter Gloser, who paid a two-day visit to Cairo, decided to start his activities in Cairo by attending such a unique cultural event. As Americans prepare to vote for a new president, a new generation is beginning to shape the political landscape. The American Embassy in Cairo held a series of events about the coming presidential elections due 4 November. First, it held last week a presentation on American Youth, Technology and the US Elections at the Mubarak Public Library, in which Peter Leyden was keynote speaker. Leyden has just completed his tenure as director of the New Politics Institute, a think tank and strategy centre based in San Francisco. He also writes about politics, technology and new media, and was the managing editor of the original Wired magazine that introduced the digital revolution to the world. He is also the co-author of two books, The Long Boom and A Future History of the World: 1980-2020, which was translated into half a dozen languages. US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey also hosted a reception and lecture last week to discuss the presidential election. Member of the Republican Party Benjamin Ginsberg, member of the Democratic Party Thomas Schaller and Leyden were keynote speakers. To conclude the series of events, the embassy will hold an all-night US election party at the Hard Rock Café, Grand Hyatt Hotel on Tuesday night, to coincide with the electoral process in the US on the same day. From 4 to 6 November, the English Language and Literature Department at the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University is organising the ninth International Conference on Comparative Literature under the title "Egypt at a Crossroads: Literary and Linguistic Studies." A number of Egyptian and Arab professors will participate in the conference in addition to art critic Terry Eagleton, professor of cultural theory and John Rylands Fellow, University of Manchester, UK and Marvin Carlson, distinguished professor of theatre and comparative literature, Graduate Centre, City University of New York.
