Arts/Entertainment

Omar Offendum is a Syrian-American hip-hop artist and a great lyricist. Some of his tracks include a translation from the great Syrian legendary poet, Nizar Qabbani, from Arabic to English, which talks about the experience of being an Arab living in the US. Born in Saudi Arabia and raised between Saudi Arabia and the US, … Continued

Any major film addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict can expect to court a measure of controversy, but American artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel’s intervention is unlikely to cause much consternation among a mainstream cinema audience. Speaking at the premiere of his latest film, Miral, at the Venice Film Festival, he proclaimed that “coming from my background, … Continued

A national short film contest and Arab-themed features from around the world highlight the sixth edition of the Arab Film Festival Friday through Sunday at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. “There is an immense amount of energy in the film industry in Arab world countries right now,” says Kim Silarski, the museum’s communications … Continued

The Cairo International Film Festival opens this week amid soaring film theft, dwindling viewer interest Egypt’s film industry, which once had a stranglehold on the Arab world’s silver screens, is suffering a bloody nose as viewers shun cinemas and watch their films on pirated DVDs or downloaded from the Internet. Once a booming source of … Continued

Egyptian comedy promoter Maha Hosny is driving through the traffic-clogged streets of Cairo while talking to CNN on her cell phone, when there’s a terrifying screech of tires and the line goes dead. Thankfully, she’s unscathed, and within minutes is once again talking about her pioneering work bringing stand-up comedy to new Egyptian audiences — … Continued

Minister of Culture Riyad Ismat opened on Saturday the drama show “The Last Fifteen Seconds” within the drama gathering “Space of Multi-Cultures in Canada” on al-Qabanni Theater. The show derives its subject from the terrorist bombings which targeted hotels in the Jordanian capital, Amman, in 2005 and claimed the lives of a number of civilians … Continued

In a stunning gold and black dress and the highest heels you’ve probably ever seen, Hollywood ‘A’ lister Salma Hayek struts across the red carpet. “I really like it, and I take it very seriously,” she tells reporters straining over the barrier for a comment about her role as a judge at this film festival. … Continued

If Henry Ford had stuck with watch repair, someone else would have figured out cars. But Alfred Shaheen … there’s a guy who changed my life. As Big Hank did with Ford Rouge, Shaheen had the skill and vision to consolidate everything he needed in one place, designing and producing the major parts and improving … Continued