Arts/Entertainment

The Cairo International Film Festival opens this week amid soaring film theft, dwindling viewer interest Egypt’s film industry, which once had a stranglehold on the Arab world’s silver screens, is suffering a bloody nose as viewers shun cinemas and watch their films on pirated DVDs or downloaded from the Internet. Once a booming source of … Continued

Egyptian comedy promoter Maha Hosny is driving through the traffic-clogged streets of Cairo while talking to CNN on her cell phone, when there’s a terrifying screech of tires and the line goes dead. Thankfully, she’s unscathed, and within minutes is once again talking about her pioneering work bringing stand-up comedy to new Egyptian audiences — … Continued

Minister of Culture Riyad Ismat opened on Saturday the drama show “The Last Fifteen Seconds” within the drama gathering “Space of Multi-Cultures in Canada” on al-Qabanni Theater. The show derives its subject from the terrorist bombings which targeted hotels in the Jordanian capital, Amman, in 2005 and claimed the lives of a number of civilians … Continued

In a stunning gold and black dress and the highest heels you’ve probably ever seen, Hollywood ‘A’ lister Salma Hayek struts across the red carpet. “I really like it, and I take it very seriously,” she tells reporters straining over the barrier for a comment about her role as a judge at this film festival. … Continued

If Henry Ford had stuck with watch repair, someone else would have figured out cars. But Alfred Shaheen … there’s a guy who changed my life. As Big Hank did with Ford Rouge, Shaheen had the skill and vision to consolidate everything he needed in one place, designing and producing the major parts and improving … Continued

They originated in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Algeria and Tunisia. They have garnered honors in festivals around the world. And they won’t be popping up on the marquee at your local multiplex anytime soon. The 2010 Arab Film Festival at the Arab American National Museum, Friday, December 3 through Sunday, December 5, presents a … Continued

Ibrahim El Batout’s “Hawi” has taken the prize for Best Arab Film at the second Doha Tribeca Film Festival. Doha, which has been named the Arab Capital of Culture for 2010 by UNESCO, launched the film festival last year in conjunction with New York’s Tribeca Film Festival. It aims to showcase international films with a … Continued

Dar al-Assad for Culture and Arts recently held two concerts dedicated to Wadi al-Safi featuring a choir of 60 singers, 15 musicians and a dance troupe, celebrating al-Safi’s history and accomplishments across 70 years of music. In an interview, al-Safi said that he loves Syria and its people just like he loves Lebanon because he’s … Continued

Egyptian fans of the Lebanese music star Fairouz might be wondering why her latest album, Eih, Fi Amal (Yes, There is still hope), is not yet widely available in Egypt. The album, released around the Arab world in the first weekend of October, was still missing from the shelves of the Egyptian music stores until … Continued

Some in the Middle East are numb to the compressive feeling of a mortar round as it sucks oxygen from the air before penetrating the side of a hill. To help viewers further understand the issues confronting the Middle East, Henry Ford Community College’s (HFCC) film festival Middle Eastern Visions II Nov. 1-9 offers in-depth … Continued

Budrus is a tiny village where something potentially very big happened, the setting for a hopeful story in an area of the world that has produced hardly any hope at all in recent years. As introduced in the surprisingly heartening documentary of the same name, Budrus is a small agricultural settlement in the West Bank, … Continued

Written by Sharif Abu-Hamdeh and directed by Campo alumnus Omar Metwally, “Habibi” can be as hard to pin down as it is riveting. The second offering in Campo and Intersection’s trilogy by first-time playwrights – after Chinaka Hodge’s remarkable “Mirrors in Every Corner” in March – the play that opened Monday is a noteworthy debut. … Continued