Security officers in plain clothes are reported to have roamed Port Said chasing revolutionaries, accusing them of inciting last night's organized violence in the football stadium, which left more than 70 Ahly Club fans (Ultras) dead and thousands (...)
Distinguished storyteller, actor and comedian Ramadan Khater died Tuesday at the age of 48.
Active for three decades in the cultural sphere, Khater worked to revive the storytelling genre and pass on the narratives of the rural poor that he had (...)
Oh homeland we left you, and my tears fled away and died / Homeland you were our hope, and one day it was you that we did not find / A rook shouted in the horizons, torn walls and houses / Wish we would have lost our eyes, and our homeland stayed (...)
On Sunday night, the 27th Alexandria Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries closed with an awards ceremony at the Sayid Darwish Theater. The Turkish film “Our Grand Despair” received the Best Directing and Best Acting awards in the international (...)
In the first part of our series "Cultivation and Control" Al-Masry Al-Youm examines the historical role of the Culture Ministry in shaping the cultural sphere. Over the coming weeks, we will look at various attempts at reform, galvanized after the (...)
Two films about Egypt's second president - “Nasser 56” (a 1996 Egyptian production) and “Gamal Abdel Nasser” (a 1999 Syrian movie) - paved the way for biopic productions in the Arab world. The huge success of the former, starring the late Ahmed (...)
“Al-Shahroura,” a biographical drama of glamorous and prolific Lebanese singer Sabah showing this month, focuses on the personal life and love woes of the actress and singer, rather than her professional career. Though ambitious, the controversial (...)
A few weeks ago, after six years as independent musicians, Black Theama's first album was released on Egypt's Aarabica Music label. The production company, known for its pop releases of traditional Egyptian and Arab singers, welcomed Black Theama to (...)
The venerable Studio Misr now faces the uncertainties of privatization, which could endanger the future of the beloved Egyptian institution. A lien on the studio's properties was declared and an auction date has been set for Monday, 19 July.
Founded (...)
Based on the poetic Egyptian novel Asafeer el-Neel (Birds of the Nile, Al Adab 1999) by Ibrahim Aslan, Magdy Ahmed Ali's latest film of the same name is due for release on 21 April. The film delves deep into the world of a middle class rural (...)
Several Egyptian films produced in the last two years have challenged the notion of "clean cinema," with some forecasting the genre's approaching demise. Notably, last winter saw a number of films present substantive humanistic stories coupled with (...)
The involvement of legendary Egyptian comedian Adel Emam in a reality TV show carrying his nickname “Al Zaem Academy for Acting” has led to a heated debate on the present and future of acting education.
The project has been heavily criticized in the (...)
A few weeks ago, Cairo Opera house visitors were surprised to find a huge iron fence surrounding El Hanager theatre. The prominent art center, dear to the hearts of many young theatre creators, is officially closed for reconstruction and (...)
After a six-year absence from the cinematic scene, director Hani Khalifa has returned with a new television drama, "El-Gamaa" ("University"). Khalifa remains unique in his generation of Egyptian directors, whose debut feature film, "Sahar El (...)
The debate around intellectual property (IP) rights in Egypt is getting more radically polarized between corporations calling for enforcement and free access supporters. Particularly in media and cultural industries, a severe confrontation is rising (...)
Writers tend to agree that political and social sarcasm is a result of the passive process of being denied political rights. In his articles, collected in "Misr Laysat Omi Di merat Aboya" ("Egypt Isn't My Mother, It's My Step Mom"), Osama Gharib (...)
For almost all producers, the poor performance of Eid el-Fitr films concluded disappointing summer season for Egypt's cinema industry
The Egyptian film industry is suffering in this time of global economic crisis, though it's unclear if it is just (...)