Records of Egypt – Page 10 – Arabian Records (1st post : Eid Al Fitr – 01st Shawwal 1439 (AH) / 15th June 2018 ) / (BETA testing – Research

8 Arabic Colloquial Words That Were Originally Ancient Egyptian

Did you know that many of the Egyptian colloquial words Egyptians use on a daily basis are not actually Arabic?

The Egyptian Arabic dialect is fundamentally Arabic, but with the influence of history and local populations, some of the peculiarities that set the Egyptian dialect apart come from the integration of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Coptic words and expressions. Surviving for thousands of years, many commonly used, modern-day Egyptian words and phrases can actually be traced back to the current dialect’s ancient predecessors.

Here are some examples of words Egyptians use, often not knowing their ancient origin, as per the books ‘From Pharaoh’s Lips’ (2003) by Ahmad Abdel-Hamid Youssef, and ‘Al Logha Al Masrreya Al Qadeema’ (Ancient Egyptian Language, 2012 ) by Abdelhaleem Nour El-din.

UMBU (DRINK)

Often, in communication with infants or toddlers, broken down or simplified words are used to allow the news speakers to express themselves without too much difficulty. For example, umbu is the word commonly used by Egyptian children to express their thirst. The ancient Egyptian term simply means “from the water”.

TA TA (STEP BY STEP)

When Egyptian parents try to help their crawling baby how to walk, they use the phrase “ta ta” derived from the ancient Egyptian word “ti ti”. Though Arabic became the primary language in Egypt, the Coptic language was initially still being used in everyday life for the majority of the population. The term “ti ti” was adopted by the Coptic language and modified to “ta ta”, which is used until today.

MAMM (FOOD)

The word Mumm is an Egyptian slang word derived from the ancient Egyptian “my wnm”, which means ‘give to eat’. Many Egyptians, until this day, teach their babies to say “mumm” whenever they are hungry — as it is easy and quick to sound out.

DAHYA TIWADDIH AL AMENDI (MAY A DISASTER SEND HIM TO HELL)

The Egyptian phrase “Dahya tiwaddih al amendi”, is originally ancient Egyptian. The word “amendi” is a Coptic word meaning “hell”, which was derived from the ancient Egyptian word “imntt”, meaning the ‘underworld’.

BIKH (BOO!)

The word “Bikh!”, meaning “Boo!”, is often used in modern day Egypt to sneak up on someone and scare them. The term is an ancient Egyptian word “pa akh” meaning “demon” or “ spirit”.

WAHAWY YA WAHAWAY IYUHA (THE MOON HAS APPEARED)

The Egyptian phrase “Wahawy ya Wahaway iyuha” is part of a song Egyptians sing during the holy month of Ramadan. Families and young children swing their fanoos (lanterns) as they sing the lyrics to Wahawy ya Wahaway iyuha. The popular lyric is believed to be inspired from the ancient Egyptian word “wah” meaning ‘to put’ or ‘appear’, and “iyah” meaning “moon”. Thus, comprising the lyric “the moon has appeared” during the month of Ramadan, which is decided upon according to the lunar calendar in Islam.

KRKR (LAUGHING)

The word “krkr” is used frequently in modern Egyptian day to describe someone who is laughing uncontrollably. The term is originally ancient Egyptian “ķrķr” and was adopted into modern day Egyptian society.

GATEK MAW (MAY A LION FETCH YOU)

The phrase “jak maw” or “gatek maw”, often switched depending on the region it is used in, essentially means “may a lion come to you”. The phrase is an Egyptian expression used as an insult. The ‘maw’ is based on a pun on the words “lion” and “mother”. The expression is often used by mothers bothered by their children.

source/content: egyptianstreets.com

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EGYPT

Omar Sharif: Lawrence of Arabia

July 10 marks the death anniversary of the late iconic international Egyptian actor Omar Sharif.

On this occasion Egypt Today looks back at some of the milestones that led to his international debut.

Sharif’s childhood

Born in Alexandria as Michel Dimitri Chalhoub on April 10, 1932, he was of Lebanese descent, but was born and bred in Egypt. His parents were of good social standards; his father in the wood business and his mother a notable society hostess who often hosted King Farouk to play cards.

Growing up, Sharif easily became multilingual as he was brought up by his French speaking mother and attended an English boarding school and Victoria College; he also became fluent in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

After graduating from Cairo University with a mathematics and physics degree, he attempted to follow his father’s path of work but quickly receded and went on to London to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Sharif realized his passion for acting at the tender age of 13 when he participated in his English boarding school’s theatre program.

This horrified his father, since it would stop his son from following in his footsteps and becoming a timber merchant. Later, Sharif’s talent overcame all obstacles and he became a world-renowned actor.

The immortal cinematic and romantic couple Sharif and Hamama

In 1954, Sharif starred in “The Desert’s Devil” (Shaytan al-Saharaa), but his break was the same year when he acted in “Struggle in the Valley” (Sira’ Fi al-Waady) alongside his wife, the late great Egyptian actress Faten Hamama.

The love story of Hamama and Sharif began when they worked together in Youssef Chahine’s “Struggle in the Valley.”

Despite being born Catholic, he changed his name and converted to Islam to marry her in 1955. A marriage that lasted for 20 years, the famed couple were the symbol of love to all the Egyptian audience.

They portrayed their love in a number of successful movies that will live on for years after their death; movies that taught us the true meaning of love, such as “Ayamna el Helwa” (Our Beautiful Days), “Nahr El Hob” (River of Love), “ Saydet el Kasr” (The Palace Lady), “Sra’a fe El Mena” (Struggle in the Port), among others.

El Sherif’s international Stardom

He achieved international stardom in 1962 by acting in Lawrence of Arabia alongside Peter O’Toole.

He maintained his status as a foreign heartthrob by leading in films like Dr. Zhivago and Funny Girl, which caused outrage in Egypt due to the romance with his leading co-star, Barbara Streisand, who won an Oscar for her role.

Funny Girl was based on a play with the same title also starring Streisand. This musical comedy drama is a biographic, based on the life of Fanny Brice, a famous female Jewish comedian of the 1900s who dreams of stardom in New York City’s Broadway.

Against all odds she rises to the top and falls for Nick Arnstein, played by Sharif, a businessman and compulsive gambler.

While the 60s were the best and busiest years of Sharif’s acting career, they were the ones which took a toll on his marriage with Hamama, and the couple shocked their fans by getting a divorce in 1974.

A resonating talent

His impeccable acting skills speak for themselves, but his mastery of contract bridge also precedes him. He wrote books on bridge, his favorite card game, and even established the Omar Sharif Bridge Circus.

However, his addiction to gambling eventually caused him money troubles, which led to his acting flops and his downward spiral.

Living alone and with little money, Sharif spent his later days living in hotels in Paris and London until he made a brief comeback with his role in the 2003 French film “Monsieur Ibrahim.”

The film received positive reviews, and Sharid even won the audience award for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival.

Sharif was always keen to support and encourage young talents such as the famed Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan, who had a small role in Sharif’s only Egyptian soap opera “Hanan w Hanin” ( Tenderness and Nostalgia).

Ramadan previously announced in a number of TV interviews that Sharif encouraged him a lot and praised his acting talent, predicting at that time that he will be a superstar in the future.

“When I first met Omar Sharif, he greeted me as if I was family. He was someone who really loved people; when he found out that we were [both] Egyptian, we bonded instantly.

The main piece of advice he gave me was to start in Egypt and get that experience under my belt before trying to have a career internationally,” recounted the Egyptian rising international actor Amir El-Masry in an interview with Egypt Today.

The End

Sharif moved back to Egypt to spend his final days while struggling with Alzheimer’s disease. Sharif passed away at the age of 83 due to a heart attack on July 10, 2015. Sharif is a cheerful, handsome, talented and iconic artist who will remain forever alive in the hearts of his audience around the world.

source/content: egypttoday.com

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EGYPT

Egypt Wins First Position with 7 Trophies in the ‘2022 Arab Open Robotics Championship’

Egypt has finished in first place at the 2022 Arab Open Robotics Championship held in Sharm El Sheikh on Monday.

Since 2008, the Arab Open Robotics Championship has been the largest regional robotics tournament held in the Arab world.

The tournament was organized by the Ministries of Youth and Sports, Communications and Information Technology, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and the Egyptian Federation of Electronic Games.

The tournament included over 650 students ranging in age from four years to the end of the university stage.

The participants represented 136 teams from 12 Arab countries: Egypt, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, and Libya.

The Arab Robotics Association accredited 100 juries to judge the tournament’s nine robot competitions.

Egypt came first, winning seven trophies. Jordan finished second with two trophies, followed by Iraq, Libya and Qatar in third place.

In addition, the tournament hosted a lively forum for Arab youth on the sidelines.

source/content: arabnews.com

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EGYPT

Award-Winning Egyptian Filmmaker Ali El-Arabi finds his Voice through Film

Nearly 10 years ago, Egyptian filmmaker Ali El-Arabi, the award-winning documentarian behind “Captains of Zaatari,” which hits Netflix this month, made a promise. He was in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, the largest temporary settlement of displaced Syrians in the world, and a teenaged boy he had just met named Fawzi Qatleesh asked if he could speak his truth to the camera.

“On the first day I arrived, he asked me, ‘Ali, can you film me? I want to say something to the people outside of this camp.’ The second he started to talk, I said to myself, ‘This boy is my hero,’” El-Arabi tells Arab News.

As the film hits Netflix this month in the Middle East, El-Arabi is overjoyed. Finally, after seven years of filming and a years-long global festival tour, his promise is fulfilled.

El-Arabi knew what it felt like to have a message that people needed to hear. He was himself once an athlete, a dedicated and successful martial artist, even winning Egypt’s national kickboxing championship. During the Egyptian revolution, however, El-Arabi abandoned any future he might have in sport, instead turning towards filmmaking.

“I started to feel I had something to say, but I couldn’t say it with my voice,” he says. “I realized filmmaking was the way I could say it. I started making small documentaries about what was happening and screening them in the street. One day, the police came and I took my film and I ran. That made me realize the power of what I could say with a camera.”

El-Arabi left Egypt, partnering with the ZDF TV channel to film documentaries in war zones including Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan and Afghanistan. War reporting, however, was unfulfilling, as it so often stripped away the humanity of those caught in its horrors.

After meeting Qatleesh and his friend Mahmoud Dagher — the two boys he would ultimately follow from the refugee camp in Jordan all the way to an elite soccer program in the Gulf — El-Arabi filmed them for seven years before whittling their story down to a scant 75 minutes, resulting in a story that showed their incredible journey while also refusing to gloss over the realities of refugee life.

Since its limited release in 2021, the film has already transformed the lives of both young men whose story it follows.

While he may be done telling their story, El-Arabi has been hard at work over the last few years on another — “Ashish’s Journey” — about the upcoming FIFA World Cup. It is inspired by a man who approached him in Qatar as he filmed “Captains of Zaatari.”

The more time El-Arabi spent with the man, the more his innocent aspirations intrigued him, leading him to not only film Ashish in Qatar, but to follow him and his family back to India, even adding fictional elements (with Ashish playing himself) inspired by the classic French satirical novella “Candide” to the docu-film.

“He’s actually a very good actor,” El-Arabi says.

While El-Arabi knows that he will finish filming later this year at the World Cup, chronicling Ashish’s adventures during the games, he does not plan to rush the film out in the immediate aftermath of the event.

El-Arabi has other projects in the works as well. He’s currently producing a film about Algeria and discussing producing an upcoming project with his best friend Mohamed Diab, the director of Marvel’s “Moon Knight.” Closest to his heart, though, is the fiction film he has in the works between Los Angeles and Egypt, inspired by both his own history in boxing and his relationship with his father.

While telling Arab stories will remain a key part of El-Arabi’s career moving forward, ultimately what drives him is not capturing his identity — it’s capturing his soul.

source/content: arabnews.com (edited)

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(From left) Mahmoud Dagher, Ali El-Arabi and Fawzi Qatleesh with the award for Best Arab Documentary Film at El Gouna Film Festival in 2021. (AFP)

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EGYPT

Egyptian Actor Amir El-Masry cast in Netflix’s The Crown

Egyptian actor Amir El-Masry was cast in the upcoming fifth season of Netflix’s historical drama The Crown, according to a PR representative on Wednesday.

El-Masry will portray the young Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-born UK-based businessman, owner of Hôtel Ritz Paris and formerly Harrods department store and Fulham FC.

The cast of the fifth season also includes Egyptian-British actor Khalid Abdalla who has ben cast as Dodi Fayed , Mohamed Al-Fayed’s son and late Princess Diana’s boyfriend. Abdalla will play opposite Elizabeth Debicki as Diana.

Born in Cairo in 1990 and raised in London, El-Masry’s career kicked off with roles in Egyptian films, earning him Best Young Actor at the Egyptian Oscars in 2009.

Graduating from The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2013, Amir appeared in Jon Stewart’s debut feature Rosewater and various acclaimed TV series before his breakthrough role in The Night Manager (2016), followed by Lost in London (2017), The State (2017) and Age Before Beauty (2018).

Other notable credits include the critically acclaimed BAFTA nominated mini-series The State, a series regular role of Dante in the new BBC series Age Before Beauty and the lead in the first American-Saudi feature The Arabian Warrior.

Following the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, including political and romantic events that have shaped the twenty-first century, The Crown is considered one of the greatest series in the history of drama.

The series has won over 130 awards, including 21 Primetime Awards, of which seven were during the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2021, scooping awards of all categories.

The first season of The Crown was released in November 2016. Its fifth season is scheduled for release in November 2022.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg

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BRITISH / EGYPTIAN

7th edition of ‘Cairo International Biennale of the Arabic Calligraphy Art’ 07- 20 June. A Simultaneous 3-day Seminar on ‘Pioneers and Renovators in 100 Years (1922 – 2022)’

Cairo witnessed the seventh edition of the Cairo International Biennale of the Arabic Calligraphy Art under the auspices of Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem at the premises of Cairo Opera House.

Under the slogan ‘Pioneers and Renovators in 100 years (1922/2022)’, the biennale included a three-day seminar that ran from 6 to 9 June at El-Hanager Cinema that highlighted the most prominent figures of Arabic Calligraphy in Egypt and the Arab world as well as an art exhibition showcasing artistic gems of this Art from 125 countries represented by 15 artists at the Art Palace in the Cairo Opera House Complex that is running from 7 to 20 June.

This year’s biennale coincides with the announcement of Cairo as the Capital of Islamic Culture and only a few months after Arabic Calligraphy was added on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Furthermore, the event established a new tradition of honouring artists and researchers for their achievements, and a side competition was held in the name of renowned Egyptian calligrapher Khedr El-Portsaidy — the founder of the Arabic Calligraphy Museum as well as the one who accredits and certifies Arabic calligraphers in Egypt.

In the opening session, Mohamed El-Baghdady — the general commissioner of the biennale — noted that this year marks the centenary jubilee of the establishment of Egypt’s first calligraphy school during the reign of king Fouad in 1922.

The session also included the presentation of a research paper written by Nahla Imam — country representative of Egypt at the 2003 Convention of Safeguarding the Intangible Heritage of UNESCO — who shared her experience in adding Arabic calligraphy knowledge, skills, and practice on UNESCO’s representative list of intangible cultural heritage in December 2021.

Mohamed Hassan Abu El-Khair — the first to innovate the ‘mashq’

The second day of sessions showcased the pioneers and renovators of such enchanting art.

The first paper was presented by researcher and calligrapher Mohamed El-Shafaai on passing down the practice of such art in Egypt, taking the family of Mohamed and Abdel-Aziz Abu El-Khair as an example, as the two are renowned Egyptian calligraphers that this year’s round was dedicated to.

He started off by revealing that the concept of passing down this form of art dates back to the pre-Islamic era, explaining that the initial idea behind Arabic calligraphy was transcription, and then the artistic element came later.

“During the pre-Islamic era, except for a small circle, very little knew how to write Arabic, and according to Abdalla Ibn Abbas, the first person to begin writing in Arabic in the tribe of Qureish was Harb Ibn Umaya — one of the masters of the tribe and the father of Sufian Ibn Harb.

The other key person in calligraphy art was El-Wazir Ibn Noqla, who was famous during the Abbasid Caliphate and inherited the art from his father El-Ali Ibn Hassan, explained El-Shafaai.

Mohamed Hassan Abu El-Khair was born in Cairo in 1921, he studied in Al-Azhar and then joined The School of Improving Calligraphy when he was only 17, where he was the top of his class and was taught by calligraphy masters such as Sheikh Fakhr El-Din, Sheikh Ali Badawi, and Mohamed Hosni El-Baba — the father of iconic Egyptian actress Soad Hosni to name but a few.

He excelled in El-Sulus and Reqaa calligraphy and soon became a professor of the art of calligraphy at Oum El-Qoura University in Mecca for 20 years.

“He was the first to innovate in the mashq (an educational manual technique) of the solos of Arabic calligraphy that are taught to fourth graders, where he started teaching students to write whole sentences from the beginning instead of focusing on letters with no context,” El-Shafaai added.

Abdel-Qader Al-Shihabi — the calligrapher of the Palestinian government

The second paper focused on Abdel-Qader Al-Shihabi — a Palestinian calligrapher — that was written by Farag Hussieny. Al-Shihabi is a renowned Palestinian calligrapher whose fame reached its peak during the first half of the 20th century and was known as the ‘calligrapher of the Palestinian government.’

“Born and raised in Jerusalem, Abdel-Qader Al-Shihabi comes from a long line of calligraphers that started off this art between the 12th and 14th year of the Hijri calendar, however, Al-Shihabi learned calligraphy in Istanbul at the hand of Mohamed Ezzat, the biggest artist. He was known for his suluth calligraphy, which decorates the walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque to date. He also spent all his life teaching calligraphy in Jerusalem and encouraging young artists to follow his passion,” explained Hussieny.

Abdalla Al Zohdi: the calligrapher of Al-Haramein Al-Sharifine

The third paper covered the ‘calligrapher of Al-Haramein Al-Sharifine (The Two Holy Mosques) Abdalla Al-Zohdi and was written by Sami Saleh Abdel-Malak.

“Born in Nablus, Abdalla Al-Zohdi was born around 1251. His family moved to Istanbul, where he studied and excelled in calligraphy at a very early age. His artistic fame made him the official calligrapher of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, where his calligraphy adorns the walls and ceilings of the mosque till now,” the paper explained,

“During the reign of khedive Ismail, he was commissioned to write the calligraphy of the Keswa of the Kaaba and Mahmal. His implacable calligraphy was quite visible and stood out in the design of the keswa from that day onwards. He was known by his highly complex and geometric Sulus calligraphy.”

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

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EGYPT

Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied, Dawood Abdel-Sayed and Iraqi Qais Azzawi win Egypt’s Top Cultural Awards and Honour

Egypt’s highest state awards in art, literature, and social sciences for 2022 were announced on 7 June, with writer Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied, director Dawood Abdel-Sayed, and late Iraq thinker Qais Azzawi winning the top honour, the Nile Award.

In a meeting chaired by Egypt’s Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem, members of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Culture (SCC) voted on the top awards.

The members voted on 53 prizes worth a total of EGP 7.5 million (around $374,632) divided into four sections:

Here is the full list of winners:

The Nile Award

The Nile Award is granted to three people in the fields of literature, arts, and social sciences. Each winner receives EGP 500,000 and a gold medal. A new award for the most creative Arab personality was added for the first time in 2018.

The Nile Award in Literature was given to writer Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied.

The Nile Award in Arts was handed to director Dawood Abdel-Sayed.

The Nile Award in Social Sciences went to the late lawyer and head of the lawyers syndicate Ragi Attia.

The Nile Award for the Most Creative Arab personality was awarded to late Iraqi thinker Qais Al-Azzawi, who died in 2022.

The Nile Award for a creative Arab personality was launched in 2018 in a bid to strengthen ties between Egypt and Arab creative minds.

Appreciation Awards

The award carries a prize of EGP 200,000 and a gold medal.

The Appreciation Award in Arts went to actor Rashwan Tawfik, architect Suhair Hawass and Ahmed Nabil Suleiman.

The Appreciation Award in Literature was awarded to writers Mohamed Abulfadl Badran, Youssef Hassan Nofal and Kamal Ruhayem.

The Appreciation Awards in Social Sciences were awarded to Said Ismail, Abdel-Salam Abu-Qahf and Moataz Sayed Abdallah.

Excellency Awards

The Excellency Award in Literature was granted to writer Reem Bassiouny and Amr Fouad Dawara.

The Excellency Award in Arts was handed to Gamal Yaqoot and Ahmed Abdel-Kareem.

The Excellency Award in Social Sciences was handed to late judge Tahany El-Gebaly, Iman Amer, and Ahmed Hassanien.

In addition to the previous awards, the SCC granted 32 encouragement awards, each one of them worth EGP 50,000.

Factbox

There are 52 prizes worth a total of EGP 7.5 million (around $374,632) divided into four sections.

Of the seven Excellency Awards, two are for the arts, two for literature, and three for social sciences. Political analyst Ammar Ali Hassan and economic expert Ahmed El-Naggar were among the winners of the prize last year.

Novelists Khairy Shalaby and Gamal El-Ghitani, poet Mohammed Afifi Mattar, and critic Gaber Asfour are among the past winners.

The Nile Award was originally named the Mubarak Award, but was changed in the aftermath of the 25 January 2011 Revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak from power.

Poet Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudi, writers Bahaa Taher, Ibrahim Aslan, and Waheed Hamed, and cinema director Youssef Chahine are the most prominent figures to date who have won the Nile Award.

The State Awards were launched in 1958 and have only been cancelled once, in 1967, during the Six-Day War between Egypt and Israel.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (edited)

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*Dawood Abdel-Sayed, Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied, and Iraqi Qais Azzawi*

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EGYPT / IRAQ

Remembering Hoda Sultan: The ‘Bella Donna’ of Egyptian Cinema / 05 June

Sunday marks 16th death anniversary of Egyptian film star Hoda Sultan (15 August 1925 – 5 June 2006).

One of the brightest stars of the 20th century, Sultan made a mark in Egyptian cinema history as an actress and singer in many musical films.

Born Gamalat Bahiga Abdel-Aal Al-Haww in Kafr Abu-Gendy in Gharbiya governorate on 15 August 1925 to a mother of Turkish descent and a father who married several times and had many children.

Sultan married at a young age and divorced after the birth of her first daughter.

She embarked on the cinematic career inspired by her brother, renowned singer Mohamed Fawzi, taking steps into Egyptian radio with her first song in 1949.

As Ashraf Gharib writes for Ahram Online: “She auditioned for a role that was announced by Nahas Studio, who was searching for a new face capable of singing to participate in Bella Donna (1950), directed by Niazi Mostafa, and landed it. Despite the fact that it was a small part, she emerged closer to the world of fame.”

She then began receiving numerous roles starting with El-Usta Hassan (Foreman Hassan, 1952), directed by Salah Abu-Seif, and Hokm El-‘Awy (The Rule of the Powerful, 1951) and Tager El-Fadayeh (The Scandalmonger, 1953), both directed by Hassan El-Imam.

She landed starring roles in many musical films such as Habib Albi (The Love of My Heart, 1952) by Helmy Rafla and Taxi El-Gharam (Love Taxi, 1954) by Niazi Mostafa.

In addition, Sultan also appeared in Hamido (1953) by Niazi Mostafa, Ga’alouni Mograman (They Made Me a Criminal, 1954) by Atef Salem, El-Mouhtal (The Swindler, 1954) by Helmy Rafla, Sawaq Nos El-Leil (Midnight Driver, 1958) by Niazi Mostafa, Abeed El-Gasad (Slaves of the Flesh, 1962) by Kamal Attiya, and two of her more important films with Hassan El-Imam: Zawga Min El-Sharea (A Wife From the Street) and Sai’dat El-Regal (Men’s Huntress) both in 1960.

“However, Hoda Sultan’s artistic and feminine climax represented itself best in Ezzeddine Zulfikar’s masterpiece Emra’ah Fi El-Tariq (A Woman on the Road, 1958) where she played the she-devil crossing your path and stinging you with her carnal desires,” writes Gharib.

“When Egyptian cinema turned towards duos, Hoda Sultan formed one with Farid Shawqi, her husband at the time. Between the pair, the remarkable duo made 19 films together, starting with Bella Donna and The Rule of the Powerful.”

Her artistic maturity became obvious in El-Sirk (The Circus, 1968) by Atef Salem, DalalEl-Masriya (Dalal the Egyptian, 1970) by Hassan El-Imam, El-Ikhtiyar (The Choice, 1971) by Youssef Chahine, and Shai’ Fi Qalbi (Something In My Heart, 1971) by Kamal El-Sheikh.

She then became the first-choice actress for the film and television roles which needed a maternal character. This landed her the role of Amina in Naguib Mahfouz’s famous trilogy adapted to TV and that of Tafida in Something in my Heart, adapted from Ihsan Abdel-Quddous’ novel.

Her important TV appearances included Layali El-Helmiya (El-Helmiya Nights, 1987), Arabesque (1994), El-Wattad (The Tent Pole, 1996), and Zizinia (1997).

Sultan passed away on 5 June 2006 in Cairo.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg

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EGYPT

Swedish-Egyptian Tarik Saleh Wins 2022 Cannes’ Best Screenplay Award

Tarik Saleh — an experienced Swedish-Egyptian filmmaker — clinched the Best Screenplay Award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival’s closing ceremony on Saturday for his latest feature film, ‘Boy from Heaven’ (‘Walad Min El-Janna’).

The filmmaker — who started his career as a journalist — also received the Prix François Chalais Award for his film’s “dedication to the values of life-affirmation.”

Boy from Heaven reportedly caused controversy amid Cannes’ Egyptian attendees after the premier, as its plot — which takes place in Al-Azhar University in Cairo — tackles the relationship between the country’s authorities and the Islamic organisation.

The film is produced by Atmo, Kristina Rikberg, and Fredrik Zander.

Previously, Saleh’s ‘Metropia’ (2009) won the Future Film Festival Digital Award of the Venice Film Festival, and his ‘Nile Hilton Incident’ (2017) — which was also set in Egypt — brought home the Grand Jury Prize from the 2017 edition of the Sundance Film Festival.

The winners of the 75th Cannes Film Festival are as follows:

– Palme d’Or: Ruben Ostlund for ‘Triangle of Sadness’ (Sweden, Germany, France, the UK)

– Grand Prix: Shared by Lukas Dhont for ‘Close’ (Belgium, the Netherlands, France) and Claire Denis for ‘Stars at Noon’ (France)

– Best director: Park Chan-wook for ‘Decision to Leave’ (South Korea)

– Best actress: Zar Amir Ebrahimi for ‘Holy Spider’ (Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France)

– Best actor: Song Kang-ho for ‘Broker’ (South Korea)

– Best screenplay: Tarik Saleh for ‘Boy from Heaven’ (Sweden, France, Finland, Denmark)

– Jury prize: Shared by Jerzy Skolimowski for ‘EO’ (Poland) and Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix van Groeningen for ‘The Eight Mountains’ (Italy, Belgium, France, Britain)

– Camera d’Or for best first film: Riley Keough and Gina Gammell for ‘War Pony’ (The US)

– Best short film: Jianying Chen for ‘The Water Murmurs’ (China)

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg

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Swedish-Egyptian director Tarik Saleh poses during a photocall after he equally won the Best Screenplay prize for the film Boy From Heaven (Walad Min Al Janna) during the closing ceremony of the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes (Photo: AFP)

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SWEDEN / EGYPT / SWEDISH EGYPTIAN

Winners of 2022 Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA)

The award saw a high turnout from authors around the world, with more than 3,000 applications submitted from more than 55 countries, including 20 Arab countries.

Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) announced on Monday the winners for its 16th edition across seven categories, selecting six literary figures, intellectuals and translators, along with Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina, for top honours.

Over the years, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award has managed to expand and become one of the most prestigious events in the Arab world, allowing for the development of cultural dialogue and the creation of new opportunities for authors and translators around the world.

This year’s winner in the young author category is Tunisian professor Mohamed al-Maztouri with his book Al Badawa fi al She’er al Arabi al Qadeem (Bedouinism in Ancient Arabic Poetry).

“The author of this book, Mohamed al-Maztouri, presents a serious academic study of bedouinism in ancient Arabic poetry,” the Zayed programme commented.

Adding that Maztouri “discusses its diverse concepts and many manifestations, describing it as a culture with special landmarks and a lifestyle inseparable from its place, environment, and geography.”

From pre-Islamic times the Arabian Peninsula has been home to world-class poetry that is deeply connected to values of bravery, nobility, eloquence and at times sensitivity.

Throughout the centuries, poetry’s popularity has only grown in the region, attracting new audiences in both the Arabian Peninsula and other Arab countries in North Africa and the Levant.

Today, the trend has been further boosted by Emirati initiatives and competitions.

The translation award went to Egyptian translator and author Ahmed Aladawi for his translation of the American author, George Makdisi, book “ The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West” into Arabic.

Each winner receives a life-changing prize of AED 750,000 (USD 204,190/GBP165,220).

Winners will also be honoured in a ceremony at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair later this year.

The Cultural Personality of the Year winner will be presented with a gold medal and a certificate of merit, as well as a Dh1 million prize.

source/content: thearabweekly.com

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Full list of winners of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2022:

Literature

Maq’ha Riche, Ain Ala Massr (Eye on Egypt: Cafe Riche) by Maisoon Saqer. Published by Nahdet Misr Publishing

Children’s Literature

Loghz al Kora al Zujajiya (The Mystery of the Glass Ball) by Maria Daadoush. Published by Dar Al-Saqi

Young Author

Al Badawa fi al She’er al Arabi al Qadeem (Bedouinism in Ancient Arabic Poetry) by Mohamed Al-Maztouri. Issued by the Faculty of Literature, Arts and Humanities at Manouba University and the GLD Foundation

Translation

Nash’at al Insaniyat Einda al Muslimeen wa fi al Gharb al Maseehi (The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West) by Ahmed Aladawi. Published by Madarat for Research and Publishing.

Art and Literary Criticism

Al Sarid wa Taw’am al Rooh: Min al Tamtheel ila al Istinaa (The Narrator and the Soulmate: From Acting to Faking) by Mohamed Aldahi. Issued by Le Centre Culturel du Livre.

Arab Culture in Other Languages

The Arabian Nights in Contemporary World Cultures: Global Commodification, Translation, and the Culture Industry by Muhsin J. Al-Musawi. Cambridge University Press.

Publishing and Technology

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

source/content: thenationalnews.com

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EGYPT / MOROCCO / SYRIA /TUNISIA / U.A.E.