Tips from the culture desk: From feminist cinema to Sonallah Ibrahim

Ongoing events this week include graffiti artist Keizer’s exhibition at Mashrabia Gallery (until November 30, info here). Music-wise, you can also catch the last night of the 8th Cairo Jazz Festival at downtown Cairo’s Greek Campus (program here, tickets start at LE100) and the last two nights of Cairo Jazz Club's Beyond the Stage (program here, LE50 entrance). And popular Sudanese vocalist and drummer Asia Madani plays ROOM on Thursday (for info see here, LE50).

Very Big Shot and The Artful — Saturday, Sunday

After a recent run at Zawya’s Cairo flagship, a new wryly humorous Lebanese thriller has a one-off screening at Zawya Alexandria (LE30). Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya’s Film Kitir Kibir (Very Big Shot, 2016) gets off to a pedestrian start but ends up being well worth your time, involving pizza, drug smuggling, a film within a film, unexpected explosions and some enjoyable commentary on the media and politics. English subtitles.

In Cairo, Zawya are having another go at screening Mohamed Khan’s wonderful Adel Imam-starring street-football movie Al-Hareef (The Artful, 1983) on Sunday (LE25) after the failed attempt during its Khan tribute last week — this time with a pale but serviceable 35mm copy.

Ahmed Morsi at Ofok Gallery — from Sunday

A Pure Artist surveys six decades of creative output by 86-year-old Alexandria-born, New York-based artist, set-designer, writer and translator Ahmed Morsi. The retrospective is curated by Ehab al-Labban and includes paintings, drawings, lithographs and a video of Morsi reciting his poems in the New York studio where he has worked since the 1970s. Morsi’s visual work tends to be gentle and figurative, with repeated animal motifs, a melancholic air and muted colors.

October 23 to November 20 at the Ofok Gallery, Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum, 1 Kafour Street, Dokki, Cairo.

Break the Power of the Manipulators + Salma Said talk — Monday

As part of the program New German Cinema – From a Feminist Perspective, curated by Ali Hussein al-Adawy and Martin Lhotzky and running until December 1, renowned German filmmaker Helke Sander’s 48-minute Break the Power of the Manipulators (1967/68) is showing at Wekalet Behna with English subtitles. It’s a hybrid documentary on the student-led protest campaign against Germany’s pro-Vietnam War Springer Press Concern. The screening is followed by a discussion with feminist activist and film student Salma Said.

7 pm October 24, Wekalet Behna, 2 Kenisa Maroniya Street, Manshiya, Alexandria. Free entry, more info here.

First Show Salon — opens Tuesday

The fourth edition of this exhibition invites recent graduates to display work executed in their final year of college and present it to the wider public. With 57 participating artists, the show is likely to be something of an endurance test, but you’re pretty sure to find something you like. It’s not yet clear how long it runs for.

Opens 7 pm October 25, 2 Saad Zaghloul Street, next to the Saad Zaghloul mausoleum, Mounira, Cairo. For more info see here.

Saleh & Miniawy at Zigzag live — Wednesday

Long-term collaborators Abdullah Miniawy, a Sufi-influenced singer and gritty lyricist from Fayoum, and Ahmed Saleh, an Alexandrian multi-instrumentalist who also plays with Telepoetic, are on for this week’s Live Wednesday at downtown Cairo club Zigzag.

LE50 entrance, doors open at 10 pm, 6 Qasr al-Nil Street, downtown Cairo. For more info and door policy see here.

Sonallah Ibrahim talk at Osiris — Thursday

Short-story writer and arts journalist Hesham Aslan leads a talk with 79-year-old writer Sonallah Ibrahim about the latter’s oeuvre. Ibrahim is considered one of Egypt’s most notable novelists both stylistically and due to his daring criticism of former governments — his support for the current government surprised some. Among his most notable works are That Smell (1966) and Zaat (1992), an alternative narrative of Egypt’s infitah era through a middle-class female protagonist.

6 pm October 27 at Osiris, 1 Seif Eddin Building, Hassan Mourad Street, off Qasr al-Aini, Cairo (same building as Tseppas Patisserie).