Tips from the culture desk: A/V experiments, French films, Mohamed Khan and slow food
Dive right into this week's Cairo arts events with an experimental audio-visual experience tonight, or wait till tomorrow and either go to veteran filmmaker Mohamed Khan's book-signing or see a French film week kick off with an important, gritty film by Celine Sciamma.
Later, spend time learning about and enjoying Islamic Cairo and/or ethically indulge yourself in some local slow food consumption at Eish wa Malh. We also recommend checking out the Cairo Contemporary Dance Center’s daily and diverse open classes, workshops and activities, which are going on all week. And Jasmina Metwaly and Phlip Rizk's sharp hybrid documentary Out on the Street continues to screen at Zawya through Wednesday.
Mapping Possibilities — Saturday
This is the first public presentation of Mapping Possibilities, which calls itself an experimental collective project that’s free of both institutional rigidity and funding. A small group of mainly electronic musicians and digital artists, they focus on the process of production through revisiting previous joint projects, jamming and discussion.
Four acts are presented. First, the NMR team will showcase Distorshy, Egypt's first locally produced pedal. Second, C31S39, which consists of musician Amr Al Alamy/1127/Cellar Door, whose sound our writer Maha ElNabawi describes as “fragmented and ambitious,” and artist Islam Shabana/Alchem Studio will offer digital explorations of “logical and sensual relationships between virtual reality and everyday existence.” Third, Onsy will perform his debut IDM EP, accompanied by a VJ performance by Nurah Farahat. Fourth, musician and writer Rami Abadir wil take the stage with his ambient electronic productions.
January 16, doors at 7 pm, show starts at 7.30 pm, at Makan, 1 Saad Zaghloul, Sayeda Zainab, Cairo. Free entrance. See Facebook event here.
Mohamed Khan book signing — Sunday
Seventy-three-year-old filmmaker Mohamed Khan recently published a large and juicy collection of his newspaper columns written between 1990 to 2015, Mokhreg Ala al-Tariq (A Director on the Road), with Kotob Khan, and he’ll be present for a discussion and booksigning at Alef Bookstore’s Heliopolis branch on Sunday evening. From the ferally brilliant The Artful to Factory Girl, Khan has been working solidly since the early 1960s — including with most of the big players of the Egyptian film scene — and the book is a must-read if you’re interested in the behind-the-scenes of his eventful career to date.
January 17, 7pm, Alef Bookstore, 132 Marghani Street, Heliopolis, Cairo. See Facebook event here.
French Film Week — starts Sunday
The French Cultural Institute returns with another of its French film weeks, which are always worth checking out. The program of five films ranges from the late Chantal Ackerman’s first feature-length film I You He She (1976, Wednesday, 7 pm), an austere love story/road movie in which the filmmaker herself acts, to Celine Sciamma’s 2014 film Girlhood, an acclaimed coming-of age drama about black teenagers in a rough Parisian suburb (Sunday, 8 pm). There's also a mystery film (Monday, 7 pm).
Free entrance. See the Facebook event, with the full program here. Institut français d’Egypte, 1 Madrasset al-Huquq al-Ferenseya, Mounira, Cairo.
Spend a day in Khalifa - Thursday to Saturday
Athar Lina is an innovative collaboration between Megawra and the Ministry of Antiquities, and it has organized a three-day event on Khalifa Street in Islamic Cairo that includes street performances, guided tours, crafts exhibitions and arts workshops for adults and children. The event inaugurates important two conservation projects, focused on the mid-13th-century dome of Shajar al-Durr and mid-12th-century shrines to descendants of the prophet al-Sayyida Ruqayya, al-Jaafari and Aatika, but there are several other good causes involved. And it's very likely to be fun.
21 - 23 January, 11 am till 8 pm. Free. Program details here.
Slow Downtown: Farm to Fork Menu & Market — Friday
Eish wa Malh, in collaboration with Slow Food Cairo and Nawaya (who are the two initiatives behind Giza’s lovely annual Date Palm Festival), will be serving a special breakfast, lunch, and dinner of fresh, local and seasonal foods on Friday. It will also host a market of local producers including Baladini, Nawaya Farmers, Habiba Organic Farm (HOF)), Ma7ali, Minnie's Dried Fruits & Vegetables, Wahi Rice and Products, Sinai Honey. The aim is to use carefully sourced ingredients and support local farmers. There will also be chilled live jazz between 1 and 4 pm by Eish wa Malh regular Ibrahim El Haddad.
Check the Facebook page for the upcoming menu, and book a table by calling 01003025346. 20 Adly Street, downtown Cairo.
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