Tips from the culture desk: A week all about film and identity

Film is at the center of this week’s cultural activities in Cairo, Alexandria, Ismailia and Port Said. The Goethe Film Week is ongoing until Monday in Cairo and Alexandria, with the Mediterranean city also hosting the last days of dance festival Nassim al-Raqs.

For visual arts aficionados, Artist Ala Younis will give a talk and tour of her work this Saturday evening, which is on display at downtown Cairo’s Contemporary Image Collective (CIC) as part of a group show, and will remain open all week. If you’re interested in buying art, Townhouse is having a painting sale on Saturday and Sunday, with many pieces available at affordable prices.

Talk by Hajooj Kuka on music, identity and war in Sudan — Saturday

In this talk at Cairo Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences (CILAS), the director of acclaimed documentary Beats of the Antonov will draw on his experiences living among and filming the troubled lives of the people of the Blue Nile and Nuba mountains in Sudan, who have endured years of armed conflict in what has been referred to as the "third Sudanese civil war." How does music, and the inherent cultural resilience it can provide, act as a counterpoint to bombs and guns in a conflict that is primarily driven by a battle over identities?

6 pm, May 6, CILAS, 10 Darb El Labbana Street, in front of El Refai Mosque. The event is free of charge, but entry is on a first come first served basis. More Information here.

Cairo Cinema Days in 4 cities — Starts Tuesday

With a lineup of over 40 films from the Arab region, this is set to be Zawya’s biggest region-specific film festival to date, showcasing recent releases and premiering films from Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Algeria, Palestine, Morocco and Egypt. The schedule includes a mixture of narrative feature films, documentaries, animations and shorts. Mada Masr will be publishing a definitive guide to Cairo Cinema Days with recommendations soon.

Full schedule here and trailer here.

Memories of a Private Eye screening at Cimatheque — Thursday

Lebanese filmmaker Rania Stephan has dedicated her last few projects to reconstructing archives. In 2011, she released The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosny, in which she retold the story of the actress’ life, and explored the making of an icon through her films. In 30-minute short Memories of a Private Eye (2015), she interlaces historic films with old home videos, using detective Mark McPherson from the 1944 film Laura to tell the story of her family life and childhood.

7 pm, May 11 at Cimatheque, 19A Adly Street, downtown Cairo. Screening is free, but Cimatheque requires a daily membership fee of LE15. In Arabic with English Subtitles.