Egypt's culture picks of the week: 23-30 March: VIDEOS

Sunday 23 March

The Art of Movement by Billie Cowie at Hotel Viennoise at 7pm

As part of D-CAF’s performing arts programme, now for the first time in Egypt this multimedia dance performance premiered in Kyoto in October 2013. The piece, this week performed by Egyptian contemporary dancer Sherine Hegazy, highlights Cowie’s expertise in using virtual 3D dancers, alongside a live performance making the real and artificial seemingly uniform. The performance is part of the Kyoto Experiment Festival, South East Dance, and includes visual art by German artist Silke Mansholt. Check Kyoto performance below.

11 Mahmoud Bassiouny Street, Downtown, Cairo

Rageh Daoud's works at the Sayed Darwish Theatre at 8pm

The Rageh Daoud Chamber Orchestra will perform some of Daoud's works for the cinema at the Cairo Opera House. The orchestra will be conducted by Daoud himself. Soloists on both evenings will be Ines Abdel-Dayem on the flute, Mostafa El-Arabi on oboe, Hossam Shehata on violin, Hany El-Badry on nay, Mahmoud Abdel-Fattah on oud, Saber Abdel-Sattar on qanoun and Mohamed Saleh on organ. The vocalist on both nights will be Ahmed Zaki. The same performance will take place again in Alexandria, on Sunday, 23 March. Check details here.

Sayed Darwish Theatre (Alexandria Opera House), 22 El-Horreya Road, Raml Station, Alexandria.

Last days of Lingering in Vicinity exhibition at Gypsum Gallery

Gypsum Gallery, which recently opened in Zamalek, is hosting a solo exhibition of works by Cairo-based visual artist Maha Maamoun. The show presents two projects that the artists produced a decade apart: a series of large-scale photographs dubbed "Cairospaces" (2003), and a single-channel video named "Shooting Stars Remind Me of Eavesdroppers" (2013). "Seen together, the two works propose aesthetic, formal and conceptual threads that run through Maamoun’s practice," reads the curatorial statement. Exhibition runs until 25 March.

5a Bahgat Ali Street, Zamalek, Cairo

D-CAF programme: 12pm   smART Mobile Film Festival, screening booths across Downtown Cairo 2pm     EE Dance Studio, Invisible Boundaries (Egypt), Alfy Bey St 3pm     The100Hands, Running Running Nucleus (Netherlands/Egypt), Alfy Bey St 7pm     Billy Cowie, Art of Movement (UK), Hotel Viennoise 9pm     La nuit qu’on suppose – The Night We Suppose (Belgium, 2013), Odeon Cinema Check the festival's programme here.

Monday 24 March

Remind Me by Lotte Sigh (Denmark) at French Institute in Alexandria at 6pm

Within D-CAF’s Urban Visions programme, which brings contemporary dance to city streets, this year’s festival ventures out of Downtown Cairo into the streets of Alexandria with Danish Lotte Sigh’s performance "Remind Me." The performance uses dance to show the deep connections between a man and a woman submerged in the controversies of love. Inspired by iconic musician Bob Dylan, this piece premiered in Copenhagen in 2008.

30 El-Naby Danial Street, El-Raml Station, Downtown, Alexandria

Piano recital at the Sayed Darwish Theatre at 8pm

Internationally acclaimed Egyptian pianist Ramzi Yassa will perform works by Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninov. Yassa's extensive performances the world over, in which he cooperated with renowned conductors, have seen him delight audiences of some of the most prestigious concert halls. The Egyptian virtuoso currently teaches at Paris' École Normale and is a jury member of numerous international piano competitions held in Leeds (UK), Santander, Carlet, Kawai (Spain), Cagliari (Italy), Pretoria (South Africa), Missouri (US), among many others. He also organises master classes in various locations across the globe.

Sayed Darwish Theatre (Alexandria Opera House), 22 El-Horreya Road, Raml Station, Alexandria.

Waltz with Bashir screening at Vent at 8.30pm

The 2008 animated production by Israeli filmmaker Ari Folmer, follows an Israeli film director as he interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict. Watch trailer below.

6 Kasr El-Nil Street, Downtown, Cairo

D-CAF programme: 12pm   smART Mobile Film Festival, screening booths across Downtown Cairo 7pm     Billy Cowie, Art of Movement (UK), Hotel Viennoise 9pm     Left Foot Right Foot (Switzerland, 2013), Odeon Cinema Check the festival's programme here.

Also on this day: - The Art of Movement by Billie Cowie at Hotel Viennoise at 7pm (See Sunday, 23 March for more details)

Tuesday 25 March

Opening of Crossroads exhibition at Safarkhan Gallery at 6.30pm

The exhibition presents works by two sculptors, Alfons Louis and Sarkis Tossoonian, exploring their native city Alexandria. The artists look into the many facets of Egyptian history, from its ancient culture to the Greco-Roman period to Coptic and Islamic heritage. The exhibition is ongoing until 16 April.

6 Brazil Street, Zamalek, Cairo

Audio-Visual experimentation by Khaled Kaddal and Aqsa Alwasat at Wekalet Behna at 8pm

A part of the series of events for the opening of Alexandria’s exciting visual arts, independent cinema and film museum, musicians Khaled Kaddal and band Aqsal Alwasat perform music sets that are mixed with live visual experimentation. The space was once the office of Behna Films Selections, one of Egypt's largest cinema distribution companies between the 1930s and 1950s, and hosts a substantial archive of the county’s cinematic history, selections of which will be exhibited at the venue. Wekalet Behna will also serve as a workshop, production, and exhibition space for independent cinema, video, and visual art in Egypt's second largest city. Wekalet Behna opened on 15 March in Mansheya. Watch Ahram Online’s video of the opening here.

1 El-Kenisa El-Marounia Street, Orabi Sqaure, El-Mansheya, Alexandia

Piano recital at Arabic Music Institute at 8pm

Works by Chopin and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata are among highlights of an upcoming concert by internationally-acclaimed pianist Ramzi Yassa. The recital is part of the International Music Centre's (IMC) monthly activities, a dynamic music institution of which Yassa is artistic director. Yassa frequently performs in Cairo while visiting his native Egypt. Read more about the concert here.

22 Ramses Street, Downtown, Cairo

D-CAF programme: 12pm   smART Mobile Film Festival, screening booths across Downtown Cairo 7pm     Billy Cowie, Art of Movement (UK), Hotel Viennoise 9pm     Alphée des étoiles – Alphée of the Stars (Canada, 2012), Odeon Cinema Check the festival's programme here.

Also on this day: - The Art of Movement by Billie Cowie at Hotel Viennoise at 7pm (See Sunday 23 March for more details)

Wednesday 26 March

Screening of Copying Beethoven at the Egyptian Centre for International Cultural Cooperation at 6.30pm

Starring Academy Award nominee Ed Harris and Diane Kruger, Copying Beethoven is a feature movie directed by Agnieszka Holland, with the screenplay by Stephen Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson. Acclaimed to be both thrilling and romantic, the movie looks into era of Beethoven, the composer’s career and his times, through the soaring notes of his last 9th Symphony. The screening is part of activities held by the Foreign Cultural Relations section of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. Watch the movie trailer below.

11 Shagaret El-Dorr Street, Zamalek, Cairo

Opera Così fan tutte at the Cairo Opera House at 8pm

Cairo Opera Company, Cairo Opera Orchestra conducted by Ahmed El Saedi, and the Cairo Opera Choir with choir master Aldo Magnato will perform Mozart's Così fan tutte, an Italian opera buffa in two acts. The opera is directed by Hazem Roshdy. The opera will be also performed on 27, 30 and 31 March. Listen to a fragment from the opera below.

Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo

Layer of Green: Photography exhibition at CIC

Cairo's Contemporary Image Collective hosts a photography exhibition, "Layer of Green," showcasing the work of young photographers from Cairo and Alexandria that focuses on the environment. Participating photographers include Ahmed Hamed, Ahmed Safyeldin, Amr El-Maghraby, Ebrahim El-Moly, Manar Morsi, Maryam Ahmed, Mai El-Shazly, Mireille El-Magrissy, Nadia Mounier, Sara Sallam and Wafaa Samir. The exhibition is the result of a workshop organised by the Goethe Institute and the CIC Photo School last November that focused on the social, cultural, political and economic context of “the layer of green,” or the environment. Exhibition runs until 16 April.

22 Abdel Khalek Tharwat Street, 4th Floor, Downtown, Cairo

D-CAF programme: 12pm   smART Mobile Film Festival, screening booths across Downtown Cairo 7pm     Billy Cowie, Art of Movement (UK), Hotel Viennoise 9pm     Un mois en thailande - One Month In Thailand (Romania, 2012), Odeon Cinema Check the festival's programme here.

Thursday 27 March

Last days of Beyond Borders: Hady Boraey at ArtTalks

ArtTalks hosts a solo exhibition for emerging Egyptian artist Hady Boraey this March. The artist, who lives and works in Alexandria, was born in Beheira in 1984 and received his BFA in 2005 and his MFA in 2011 from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Alexandria. "In 'Beyond Borders,' Boraey takes us on an imaginary journey of what could lie beyond the borders of the earth, of one's home and of one's mind," reads the curatorial statement. Exhibition runs until 28 March.

8 Al-Kamel Mohamed Street, Zamalek, Cairo

D-CAF programme: 12pm   smART Mobile Film Festival, screening booths across Downtown Cairo 7pm     Billy Cowie, Art of Movement (UK), Hotel Viennoise 9pm     Les grandes ondes - Longwave (Switzerland/France/Portugal,2013), Odeon Cinema 10pm   RINSE.FM and 100Copies presents Cairo Calling (UK/Egypt), Sherazade Nightclub Check the festival's programme here.

Also on this day: - Opera Così fan tutte at the Cairo Opera House at 8pm. Check the trailer below. - The Art of Movement by Billie Cowie at Hotel Viennoise at 7pm (See Sunday, 23 March for more details)

Friday 28 March

El-Korba Festival at El-Korba Heliopolis starting 10am

The all day street festival brings an interesting line-up of independent musicians along with other activities for families. The musicians participating include Malaleem, Kareem Hossam Jazz Group, Mohamed El-Baih "beatbox", Rassef L'bkariya, Ashara Gharbi, Shaware3na band, Sarah El Gohary, Cherine's Project and Massar Egbari.

El-Korba, Heliopolis, Cairo

Jews of Egypt Film screenings at Wekalet Behna

Jews of Egypt by Amir Ramses is a documentary feature on Jews who left Egypt in the mid-20th century. The film will be followed by a talk with the director and producer. Read our interview with the director here. Every Friday between 14 March and 9 April, Wekalet Behna in Alexandria will screen Villa 69, Jews of Egypt, and Rags and Tatters. The space was once the office of Behna Films Selections, one of Egypt's largest cinema distribution companies between the 1930s and 1950s, and hosts a substantial archive of Egypt's cinematic history, selections of which will later be exhibited in the space. Wekalet Behna will also serve as a workshop, production, and exhibition space for independent cinema, video, art, and other visual arts in Egypt's second largest city. Read more about Wekalet Behna here and watch the Jews of Egypt trailer below.

1 El-Kenisa El-Marounia Street, Orabi Square, El-Mansheya, Alexandria

D-CAF programme: 12pm   smART Mobile Film Festival, screening booths across Downtown Cairo 8pm     Edit Kaldor, C’est du Chinois (Netherlands), Falaki Theatre 9pm     Francophone Short Films (Second Evening), the GrEEk Campus, AUC Check the festival's programme here.

Also on this day: - The Art of Movement by Billie Cowie at Hotel Viennoise at 7pm (See Sunday, 23 March for more details)

Saturday 29 March

Egypt Photo Summit at AUC Greek Campus at 10am

This two-days event will bring together photographers, filmmakers, designers, stylists, makeup artists, food stylists to exchange ideas and showcase their work. The event will continue through Sunday, 30 March.

AUC Greek Campus, 28 Falaki Street, Downtown, Cairo

Nadah El-Shazly concert at 100Copies Music Space at 8pm

The young singer, songwriter and producer will showcase her multitude of talents at 100Copies. "I will mix singing with sounds that I capture from my immediate environment, add some instruments, manipulate them, juxtapose them with the ongoing silence, and play all this for you on Saturday,” the artist says on the Facebook event page.

22 Talaat Harb Street, Downtown, Cairo

Youssra El-Hawary concert at Rawabet Theatre at 8pm

The talented accordionist has only been on the scene for two years but managed to gain recognition as one of the strongest female voices of the independent music scene in Cairo. Joined by her band Sedky Sakhr, with Shady El-Husseiny, Yamen El-Gamal, Hussein El-Meluigy and Mohamed Emad, El-Hawary’s music takes on simple yet powerful lyrics and transforms them into catchy songs, mixing accordion, piano, flute, harmonica and mandolin and in this concert adding percussion and bass guitar. Besides her musical and acting career, El-Hawary has recently started hosting a weekly radio show on Nogoum FM on independent music. Read more here and check one of El-Hawary's songs below.

3 Hussein El-Meamar Street (next to the Townhouse Gallery’s Factory Space), Downtown, Cairo

D-CAF programme: 12pm   smART Mobile Film Festival, screening booths across Downtown Cairo 2pm     EE Dance Studio, Invisible Boundaries (Egypt), Alexandria (Venue TBC) 3pm     The100Hands, Running Running Nucleus (Netherlands/Egypt), Alexandria (Venue TBC) 6pm     I’ll Dance While You’re Dancing & We Will Have Danced Together (US), Alexandria (Venue TBC) 9pm     Left Foot Right Foot (Switzerland, 2013), Odeon Cinema 8pm     Edit Kaldor, C’est du Chinois (Netherlands), Falaki Theatre Check the festival's programme here.

Sunday 30 March

Hassan Khan exhibition opening at Kodak Passageway at 6pm

This year, D-CAF decided to showcase contemporary Egyptian artist Hassan Khan. The show will be the first major survey of Khan's work in Cairo. The exhibit will feature works produced by the internationally acclaimed artist between the mid-90s to the present day. The works include text-based projects, sculptural forms, and music projects, among others. The exhibition will be located in unused storefronts alongside the Kodak passageway in Downtown Cairo. The site has been designed and curated by CLUSTER in such a way that creates a series of exhibition spaces that blur the lines between the artist's diverse oeuvre and the surrounding local community.

20 Adly Street, Downtown, Cairo

D-CAF programme: 12pm   smART Mobile Film Festival, screening booths across Downtown Cairo 12pm   Hassan Khan Exhibition, Kodak passageway 9pm     Alphée des étoiles – Alphée of the Stars (Canada, 2012), Odeon Cinema Check the festival's programme here.

Also on this day: - Opera Così fan tutte at the Cairo Opera House at 8pm

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