Squeezed in between auto-parts shops and cafes off the crowded avenues of downtown Cairo, no blaring marquee announces this cinema. Instead, look for a small blue doorway, marked by a discreet neon calligraphy sign and, sometimes, an old Peugeot parked across the street playing films projected onto its windscreen.
The car once belonged to the late Youssef Chahine, Egypt’s most-lauded movie director, who, in a career that spanned six decades, made films with a social conscience that challenged censors and broke with the dominant big-studio system.
Behind the door, a project launched by the production company he founded aims to bring films in that tradition to a new audience. The 170-seat Zawya cinema hopes to generate a market for alternative, international or independent films in Egypt, where one of the world’s oldest movie industries has fallen into decline.
Egypt currently produces only about 20 films a year, less than a quarter of its peak late last century. Its funding and profits have been hit hard by DVD pirating and downloads, as well as growing religious conservatism. Three years of instability following Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising only worsened the picture. The films that do get made are largely geared towards a quick buck – slapdash comedies and over-the-top melodramas with poor production values.
The project hopes to bring quality films to the streets of the Arab world’s most populous country.
Zawya – which means angle, corner or perspective in Arabic – was partially born out of the revolutionary spirit of nearby Tahrir Square, says Marianne Khoury, Chahine’s filmmaker niece and producer at Misr International Films. Tahrir was the epicentre of mass demonstrations that helped bring down the longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, then his elected successor, the Islamist Mohamed Morsi, last summer.
“The revolution actually sparked interest and boosted our chances for a project like this,” she says, as film nerds, hipsters, curious mechanics and even diplomats in suits crowded the entrance on opening night.
“The idea was to create a space where you can watch films the way they should be watched,” she says.
Pro-democracy activists may have seen their political hopes dashed this past year amid a crackdown on Morsi supporters and on free speech in general. But some cultural initiatives inspired by the revolutionary fervour of the past three years have survived.
Zawya opened with Wadjda, the first Saudi feature film directed by a woman, which tells the story of a young girl's quest to ride a bicycle – an act forbidden by the kingdom's clerics. Later, it played Jim Jarmusch's vampire-chic Only Lovers Left Alive, and Asghar Farhadi's drama The Past.
Zawya, built into an annex of a one-time movie palace-turned-multiplex, sells several dozen tickets per day, its box office says, while special premiere screenings have filled it beyond capacity.
With its downtown location, it aims to reach out to groups not normally targeted by such an eclectic selection. It also fits into a push to revitalise Cairo’s rundown city centre – a Herculean challenge given the grave disrepair into which many of its 19th- and early 20th-century buildings have fallen.
Zawya, for example, hosted films from this year’s edition of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival, which seeks to revive the area as a cultural centre and expose a wider section of Egyptians to the arts.
It has also attracted European film bodies hoping to promote their films in a market that has long been poorly tapped.
“We’ve been trying for a long time to do something for French movies here and, until now, nothing has worked,” says Jean-Christophe Baubiat from UniFrance Films. “This project arrived at just the right moment – not only for French but also for European and American independent movies. It’s the first art house cinema in Egypt.”
Others are also trying to boost downtown’s appeal to art-cinema fans.
Due to open later this year a few blocks away is another alternative film centre, the Cinematheque. It bills itself as a space for filmmakers and film-lovers to watch, learn about and create cinema, as well as draw in a broader public.
Located next to Cairo’s old synagogue, it will feature screening facilities, workshop spaces, an international archive and a processing lab for analogue film.
The appeal of alternative cinema to Egypt’s 90 million people remains to be tested.
At a cafe outside Zawya one recent night, the waiter Hamdy Mido served dozens of men chatting away, seemingly oblivious to the movie house next door.
“Some of our customers have gone there, and I plan to go see that police film, Zero. But in general these films are on a very high level and sometimes in foreign languages, and most people here prefer to hear Arabic.
“It’s not for everybody,” he adds.
* Associated Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
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Arsenal's pre-season fixtures
Thursday Beat Sydney 2-0 in Sydney
Saturday v Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney
Wednesday v Bayern Munich in Shanghai
July 22 v Chelsea in Beijing
July 29 v Benfica in London
July 30 v Sevilla in London
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Essentials
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing.
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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SPECS
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EXPATS
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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
