Cinema

A new film documents Egypt’s emerging skateboarding scene

  The film tells the story of Egyptian skateboarding through the voice of the Herrawi brothers.
23 Apr 2013
ALEXANDRIA — Lurking in the shadows of the many shoddy post-revolution films on Egypt lies a story not many people have heard. It is a story of determination and the pursuit of passions. But this tale is not about the revolution or...
Yes

‘Blind Ambition’ - A must-see low-fi epic

Hassan Khan, Blind Ambition (2012), single channel video, dubbed and synchronized voices, HD video shot on a Samsung Galaxy SII cell phone, 46 minutes. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Chantal Crousel.
14 Apr 2013
Hassan Khan’s film “Blind Ambition” reminds me of high drama, westerns, myths, operas. But it’s only 46 minutes long and consists mostly of close-ups of actors out and about in Cairo, spouting lifelike dialogue,...
Yes

D-CAF arts festival brings West African cinema to Cairo

A film by Souleymane Bamba aka Lonesome Solo (Ivory Coast, 2012) Photo: Courtesy of D-CAF
08 Apr 2013
Two decades ago, the Nigerian film industry was non-existent; today, "Nollywood" produces more films a year than its American namesake and is surpassed only by the Indian film industry — all the more impressive considering...
Yes

Hal Badeel festival showcases 10 shorts by Egypt's upcoming filmmakers

Loosely based on one of the stories or dreams in Naguib Mahfouz’s “The Dreams,” Emad Maher's “Zakaraia” is a black and white ode to absurdity. 
03 Apr 2013
A number of short films, ten in all, by upcoming Egyptian directors, each made within the past two years is showing as part of Hal Badeel (Alternative Solution) Festival for Arts in Downtown Cairo tonight. The organizers of the festival,...
Yes

Egyptian film provides poetic and impassioned look at Palestine's occupation

25 Mar 2013
Images of the sea and its vociferous waves speak to the uncharted experiences it holds. Images of advertisement billboards in Ramallah speak to a fabricated state of normalcy. These and some others make of Omar Robert Hamilton’s...
Yes

Director: NSA bans film on Egyptian Jews

13 Mar 2013
The director of the film "The Jews of Egypt" film Amir Ramses has said that the National Security Agency banned the film in Egypt. Ramses said that the NSA’s ban violated the powers of the country’s censorship...
Yes

'Enjoying poverty' in Congo

11 Mar 2013
“I’ve been watching this film for three days and I haven’t been the same,” said Moukhtar Kocache. “Walking in the streets of Cairo hasn’t been the same.” The Contemporary Image Collective is...
Yes

Romanian movie 'Child's Pose' wins top award at Berlin Film Fest

17 Feb 2013
BERLIN — A Romanian movie about an upper-middle class family covering up for a hit-and-run carried out by its son has earned the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival’s Golden Bear Prize, marking the end of a largely...
Yes

Different faces of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Berlin

"Art/Violence" (2013), by Udi Aloni, Batoul Taleb, Mariam Abu Khaled
15 Feb 2013
BERLIN — In recent years, Israeli cinema has enjoyed a strong presence in major world festivals, winning awards right and left and exploring different perspectives of the Middle East conflict that is not always pro-the Jewish state....
Yes

Time travel and back: Three films capture revolutionary moments

  Chris Marker’s "La Jetee" (1962) challenges conventional notions of time.
14 Feb 2013
Azin Feizabadi is in Cairo, hosted by the art initiative Beirut. His presence is visible as you approach Beirut’s villa in the form of seven ghostly, punkish flags hanging on posts from its roof. They are white and have round holes...
Yes

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