Street art The multidisciplinary Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF), from 19 March to 9 April, is back for the fourth year under the artistic direction of Ahmed Al-Attar, bringing dance, visual and performance art, theatre, music and film to iconic venues throughout Downtown Cairo. In Al-Borsa Street, Bassam Al-Zoghby captured evocative photos of the Egyptian African Export band and its audience. Festival founder Al-Attar is also curating two of its six strands: Performing Arts and Urban Visions, the latter presenting performance pieces in public spaces. Along with Al-Attar, the D-CAF 2015 curators include Mahmoud Refaat (music), Mai Abul-Dahab (visual srts) and Rasha Salti (film). The Performing Arts programme this year places strong emphasis on audience participation, with some pieces relying on spectators, while Urban Visions continues to extend the realm of performing arts into public and unconventional spaces. The visual arts programme features a selection of solo exhibitions and an evening of visual artists presenting performance art. A programmer from the Toronto International Film Festival has curated a diverse range of films from across the globe, from Senegal, China, Denmark, Brazil, USA and more. The music programme this year is directed at what Refaat describes as “urban youth culture”, and features well-known Berlin-based DJs, as well as local shaabi acts (see Listings P.22). In the Al-Ahram lobby, the embassies of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, together with Al-Ahram Publishing, held a philatelic exhibition entitled “Stamps of Visegrad Group Countries.” The opening took place on Sunday 22 March in the presence of Slovakia Ambassador Peter Javorčík, Polish Ambassador Michal Murkociński, Czech Ambassador Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová, the Czech Embassy Cultural and Press Affairs officer Jaromir Vejrych as well as the Hungarian Embassy Deputy Head of Mission Magdolna Pej, director of the Balassi Institute (Hungarian Cultural Institute) Renatá Kovács, Al-Ahram Organisation General-Manager Mohamed Fayez Farahat, Al-Ahram Weekly Pack of Cards and Listings Editor Reham El-Adawi and Director of Al-Ahram Public Relations Department Ahmed Mahmoud. Tunisian Ambassador to Egypt Mahmoud Al-Khoumeiri gave a reception at his residence in Zamalek to mark Tunisian National Day. Present were Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Al-Arabi, head of the National Council for Women Mervat Al-Tellawi, singer Ehab Tawfik, actress Hind Sabri, Saudi Ambassador Ahmed Qattan, Kuwaiti Ambassador Salem Al-Zamanan, Omani Ambassador Khalifa Al-Harithi, Bahraini Ambassador Sheikh Rashed Al-Khalifa, Jordanian Ambassador Bishr Al-Khasawena, Iraqi Ambassador Diaa Al-Dabbas, Libyan Ambassador Fayez Gebriel, Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Al-Alaami, European Union Ambassador James Moran, Greek Ambassador Chris Lazaris, Swiss Ambassador Markus Leitner and his Vietnamese counterpart, Dao Thanh Chang. Saint Mary's School in Shubra honoured actress Laila Elwi during her attendance at a celebration for the benefit of orphans. Elwi delivered a speech to the school's students. The event also featured a performance by “Arab Idol” star Mohamed Rashad. Also present were singer Khaled Mustafa and actress Amal Rizk. The Embassy of India in Cairo, in partnership with the Ministries of Culture and Tourism and the Cairo Opera House, announced the return of the third edition of India by the Nile Festival (30 March-16 April) in Cairo, Alexandria, Ismailia and Port Said. In the last two years, the festival proved to be the biggest foreign event in Egypt since the 25 January Revolution. This year the festival will be inaugurated by none other than the much-loved Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. On 31 March, Bachchan will speak about his films, particularly Amar Akbar Anthony, at a press conference at the Marriot Hotel. He will also attend the opening ceremony of the Film Panorama at the Opera House and the gala event at the Sound and Light Theatre in the Giza Pyramids on the same day. Bollywood Extravaganza: A Tale of Passion, Love and Revenge will be performed at the Cairo and Alexandria Opera Houses and will see more than 35 Indian dancers performing music from Indian cinema. A Bollywood dance workshop will also be held on 30 March at Medan Theatre in the Cairo Opera House complex. Throughout the three weeks of the festival, the range and variety of India's diverse culture will be on display. A dance group from the northeastern state of Manipur will showcase the folk traditions of the area and the well-known band Advaita will perform fusion music, combining the classical musical traditions of Indian music with Western rock (see Listings P.22). Culinary events will feature street food available at event venues. Two events of special interest this year will be a “Wellbeing Weekend”, focusing on the power of yoga and India's holistic medical traditions at Al Azhar Park, and a Handicrafts Exhibition and Symposium at Fustat and Al-Hanager Art Centre, drawing together artisans and experts from India and Egypt in a unique collaborative programme on handicrafts. In “Words on Water”, Indian and Egyptian literary figures will speak about preserving cultures at the Supreme Council of Culture. Actress Dalia Al-Beheiri was honoured at the International Squash Championship at the Alexandria Sporting Club in the presence of the Spanish Consul General in Alexandria, Jorge de Lucas Cadenas. The first-place winners were Ali Farag and Hanna Bassem and the second-place winners were Zaher Mohamed and Nouran Turk, who took a selfie with Al-Beheiri. On Sunday 22 March, Culture Minister Abdel-Wahed Al-Nabawi, Technical Education and Training Minister Mohamed Youssef, together with head of the Cultural Development Fund Mohamed Abu Saada, inaugurated the first Cairo International Arab Calligraphy Forum at the Palace of Arts on the Cairo Opera House grounds. Present were head of the Fine Arts Sector Ahmed Abdel-Ghani, Secretary-General of the Arab Calligraphers Syndicate Mosaad Khodeir, head of the Supreme Council of Culture Mohamed Afifi and head of the Foreign Cultural Relations Sector Hanan Mounib. The forum showcases 260 calligraphy paintings and offers a number of workshops and research seminars. According to event coordinator Mohamed Baghdadi, the forum features 74 Egyptian and 41 foreign calligraphers, the latter from around 20 countries. At a press conference held before the opening, Abu Saada announced that the Cultural Development Fund is exploring the possibility of establishing a calligraphy school at Beit Al-Sehemi (see Listings P.22).
