Egypt's culture picks of the week: 2-9 March: VIDEOS

Sunday 2 March

Artist talk with Shayma Kamel in Mashrabia Gallery at 6pm

Shayma Kamel gives a talk within the context of her current solo exhibition in Mashrabia Gallery, Cinderella’s Tales. Keeping a close eye on the dynamics of social life in Cairo, Kamel usually captures the essence of the Egyptian persona through large paintings that simultaneously haunt and enchant. In this exhibition, the artist deals with figures such as fictional princesses like Cinderella that are idolised by young girls. Kamel also uses the representation of manikins we see in storefront windows to express an alternate reality. Through painting work, Kamel attempts to capture the blurred lines between fantasy and reality within society. Exhibition runs until 20 March. Read more on the exhibition here. 

8 Champollion Street, Downtown Cairo                                

Featherweight Portable Cinema Part I at Rawabet Theatre at 7.30pm

Mr Moonlight (2014) by Ahmed Shawky and The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosny (2011) by Rania Stephan will be screened at Rawabet Theatre. Mr Moonlight is a short video that explores how secondhand, retold stories lose their original meanings. The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosny is a fragmented reconstruction of legendary screen start Soad Hosny's films and iconic scenes to tell a new story. According to the programme information, the films and videos presented during Featherweight Portable Cinema are meant to "undermine the veracity of the photograph, sabotage the construction sites of visual representation and reshuffle the anthology of images that we consult to remember the past." The film programme accompanies the exhibition The House of Rare Historic Photographs currently on show in the nearby Townhouse Gallery's first floor space. 3 Hussein Al-Maamar Street, off Mahmoud Bassiouny Street, Talaat Harb, Downtown Cairo

One-act opera Amahl and the Night Visitors at Al-Gomhouriya Theatre at 8pm

Inspired by Hieronymous Bosch painting The Adoration of the Magi, the opera examines Christmas from the perspective of a poverty-stricken woman and her son Amahl who spot the three kings, while looking out the window on Christmas night, coming to visit their humble home on their way to Bethlehem. Soloists include: Soprano Neveen Allouba (in the role of The Mother), bass Reda El Wakil (King Balthazar), baritone Raouf Zeidan (King Melchior), soprano Yamin Antar (Amahl) and bass Ossama Gamal (The Page). The same opera will be performed again on Monday 3 March.

Al-Gomhouriya Theatre, 12 Al-Gomhouriya Street in Abdeen Square, Downtown Cairo

Also on this day: - Live musical performance Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs to be performed this week twice every day at Cairo International Conference Center. Sunday shows are at 10am and 6pm. Check here for details and reservation. 

Monday 3 March

Screening of Yugoslavia: How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body at Contemporary Image Collective at 7pm

Screening of Yugoslavia: How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body, an experimental documentary by Marta Popivoda, is part of the Meeting Points 7 exhibition. Through archival videos and images, the film tackles the role played by ideology in Yugoslavia’s history, and follows the country's transformation from socialism to what the director refers to as “wild” capitalism. Second screening of the same documentary will take place on Wednesday 5 March. Watch the trailer below.

22 Abdel-Khaleq Tharwat Street, Downtown Cairo

Maspero II: The Sequel - collective exhibition in Darb 1718 The exhibition features works by Ahmed El-Shaer, Aisha Al-Shabrawy, Ali Abdel-Mohsen, Amr El-Kafrawy, Azza Eissa, Moataz Nasr, Moawya Helal, May El-Hossamy, Yassmin El-Meligy and Youssef Limoud. Maspero II: The Sequel is a follow up to a 2011 exhibition curated by Ali Abdel-Mohsen, featuring the works of artists who deal with the topic of censorship, media freedom and the iconic television building known as Maspero using painting, writing, video, photography, graffiti and even architecture. This time around, some of the artists from the original exhibition, along with new names, are revisiting these concepts almost three years later to see what has changed - or rather has not since the outbreak of the Egyptian revolution. Maspero represents more than 60 years of state-sponsored and state-produced media, whether on the political or cultural level. Opening hours: 10am - 10pm Qasr Al-Shamee Street, Al-Fakhareen, Old Cairo (Behind the Hanging Church and Amr Ibn Al-As Mosque)

Also on this day: - One-act opera Amahl and the Night Visitors at Al-Gomhouriya Theatre at 8pm. Check details here. 

Tuesday 4 March

Celebrating Arabic poetry at the Cairo Opera House at 7pm

The evening will include poetry readings of many renowned Arab poets, including Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain and Khalid Abdul Latif Al-Shaiji from Kuwait, Mohammed Turki Hijazi from Jordan, Egyptian Fuad Taman, Mohamed Ibrahim Abu Senna. The evening is organised by the Foundation of Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain's Prize for Poetic Creativity.

Small Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo

Screening of This Ain’t California at the Goethe Institute at 8pm

This Ain’t California, a documentary by German director Marten Persiel, tells the story of the rebellious skateboarding subculture in authoritarian East Germany during the 1980s. The 99-minute documentary was released in summer 2012. The film screening is part of the Film Week, a collaboration between Goethe and French Institutes in Egypt. Running between 1 and 10 March, the Film Week includes a selection of 15 short films and documentaries. Check the Film Week programme here and watch This Ain’t California trailer below.

5 Al-Bustan St., Downtown Cairo

Wednesday 5 March

The Nile Project concert at Al-Azhar Park at 7pm

Following its big tour across Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia, the Nile Project returns to Egypt to perform at Al-Azhar Park. The concert will feature musicians from Egypt, Burundi, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. Read more about the Nile Project here

Al-Azhar Park, Salah Salem Road, Cairo

Two comedy plays in Ashraf Abdel-Baki’s Teatro Masr at MUST Opera House at 8pm

Started in December, Egyptian actor and comedian Ashraf Abdel-Baki’s Teatro Masr project aims at reviving Egyptian comedy theatre by performing two short comedy plays per night. The plays are free from any heavy political or otherwise adult-restricted content. The fifth show, consisting of two new plays titled ‘Mokhles Tahn’ (Very Faithful) and ‘El-Masraheya El-Ashra’ (The Tenth Play), will premiere on Wednesday 5 March, continuing until Saturday 8 March, at the MUST Opera House. Another performance is scheduled next week.

MUST Opera House, extension of 26th of July Axis, 6 October City, Giza Also on this day: - Screening of Yugoslavia: How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body at Contemporary Image Collective at 7pm. Check 3 March listings for more details.

Thursday 6 March

Piano recital by Senka Brankovic at the Opera House at 8pm

Austrian pianist Senka Brankovic will perform in the Small Hall of the Cairo Opera House on Thursday. This is the last concert in her tour of Egypt after a performance in Hurghada on 3 March at the CC Red Sea Culture Centre and another in Alexandria on 5 March at the Sayed Darwish Theatre. Brankovic is the winner of numerous piano competitions including the Johannes Brahms International Competition in Austria and the International Art Song Competition in Stuttgart, Germany. Her discography of three CDs includes performance of works by Antonin Dvorak and Edvard Grieg.

Small Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo

Last days of   exhibition by Sabah Naim at Safarkhan Art Gallery

Egyptian artist Sabah Naim will exhibit her work in a solo exhibition opening this month at the Safarkhan Art Gallery. The artist has participated in international collective exhibitions from Paris' Centre Georges Pompidou to Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, among many others. The exhibition runs until 8 March.

6 Brazil Street, Zamalek, Cairo

Also on this day: - Live musical performance Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, twice a day every day at Cairo International Conference Center. Thursday shows are at 10am and 8pm.

Friday 7 March

Shawarena concert at El-Sawy Culturewheel at 7:30pm

After success on Arabs Got Talent, Egyptian Band Shawarena (Our Streets) performs at El-Sawy Culturewheel this Friday. As the name suggests, the band’s vision is to write and perform songs about topics that are relevant to Egyptian streets, whether political, social, or personal. Their songs are a blend of Egyptian lyrics and melodies performed with Western musical instruments. Consisting of seven musicians originally from Alexandria, Shawarena reached the finals in Arabs Got Talent last December. Watch Shawarena performance during Arabs Got Talent below.

River Hall, El-Sawy Culture Wheel, Zamalek, Cairo

Last days of Meeting Points 7: Collective exhibition at CIC

The Contemporary Image Collective (CIC) is hosting a collective show featuring works by a group of Egyptian and international artists. Besides Cairo, Meeting Points 7 will be held in Zagreb, Antwerp, Hong Kong, Beirut, Vienna and Moscow. Inspired by unfolding social and political transformations in the Arab world and the changing shape of capitalism around the globe, the exhibitions partake of an international dialogue on politics, economics and culture. The show features works by Iman Issa, Sanja Iveković, Maryam Jafri, Rajkamal Kahlon, Kayfata and Haytham El-Wardany, Jumana Manna, Cecilia Vicuña, Basma Al-Sharif, and Rosalind Nashashibi. The exhibition runs until 8 March

22 Abdel-Khaleq Tharwat Street, 4th Floor, Downtown Cairo

Saturday 8 March

Port of Memory & Wadjda screening at Goethe Institute at 6pm then 8pm

Port of Memory, by director Kamal Aljafari, is a documentary about a Palestinian family living in the threat of eviction from their home in Jaffa, now a part of Tel Aviv. Wadjda, a feature film by Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, tells the story of a young girl living in Riyadh who longs to buy a bicycle, and explores the difficulties she faces in Saudi society. The two films will be screened at the Goethe Institute as part of the Film Week hosted by the Goethe and French Institute in Egypt. Watch Wadjda’s trailer below and check out more about the Goethe Film Week programme here. Goethe Institute: 5 Al-Bustan St., Downtown Cairo

Darb El-Mazzika featuring three bands at Darb 1718 at 7pm

Darb El-Mazzika is a programme including series of concerts that will feature Egyptian and international bands on Darb 1718's stage. On 8 March, three Egyptian bands will perform: Rassef El-3abkarya, Like Jelly and Salalem.

Kasr El-Shamee Street, behind Amr Ibn Al-Aas Mosque, Fustat, Old Cairo.

Featherweight Portable Cinema Part II at Rawabet Theatre at 7.30pm Part II of Townhouse’s film programme will show Camera Mayya (2012) and I Don't Know (2012) by Paul Geday and Crop (2012) by Joanna Domke and Marouan Omara. The documentary Crop follows an Al-Ahram photojournalist in the days after the 2011 revolution. Filmed entirely within Al-Ahram's offices, Crop, as the name suggests, is about images, both the ones we see and don't see in the newspaper. Those that we do see are gateways to a discussion about censorship, as Al-Ahram's editors and photojournalists substitute one photo or another. Those we don't see, at least not in traditional media, come from citizen journalists, who’s on the ground reporting, especially during the 2011 uprising, also played a part in the formulation of public opinion. Along the way the film shows how all Egyptian presidents from the time of Gamal Abdel-Nasser have used the media to shape public perceptions.

3 Hussein Al-Maamar Street, off Mahmoud Bassiouny Street, Talaat Harb, Downtown Cairo

Cairo Symphony Orchestra weekly concert at the Cairo Opera House at 8pm

Cairo Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Russian Miran Vaupotich will perform Ottorino Respighi’s The Birds (Gli uccelli), Koussevitzky’s Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra, Op.3 and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major. The soloists of the evening will be Nermine Esmael on double bass and Moushira Issa on piano.

Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo

Sunday 9 March

Neighbours by Tahani Rashed at Bibliotheca Alexandrina at 7pm

This 2009 documentary by Tahani Rashed explores the neigbourhood of Garden City, especially the relationship between its deterioration and the 1952 officers movement. The film interviews veteran residents and prominent figures. Rashed will be available for a Q&A after the film. Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Arts Center, Azarita, Alexandria

Al-Nour Wal Amal anniversary concert at the Opera House at 8pm

Celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of Al-Nour Wal Amal association for visually impaired Egyptian girls, Al-Nour Wal Amal Chamber Orchestra will perform at the Cairo Opera House. The orchestra -- consisting of blind female musicians -- was established in the late 1960s as part of educational activities of the association; the very first concert of the ensemble took place still at the Old Cairo Opera House. Since then, the orchestra has grown considerably, incorporating three generations of visually impaired musicians. The orchestra has toured the world, performing in over 20 countries and on five continents, with a repertoire of both Western classical and oriental music. Over the years, the Al-Nour Wal Amal Orchestra has achieved astounding acclaim, being called “a human miracle,” “the fourth pyramid on the Giza plateau,” and “an orchestra with no peer in the world.” Read more about Al Nour and Amal here and about their Germany concert here, with photos here . See below for a video about Al-Nour Wal Amal Orchestra performing in Germany.

Small Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo  

Also on this day: - Port of Memory and Wadjda screenings at French Institute at 6pm and 8pm. Check Saturday 8 March listings for more info.

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