WATANI International
18 October 2009
The international Japanese manga artist and the creator of the famous animation characters Mazinger and Grendizer, Go Nagai, was hosted by the Japan Foundation Cairo Office, in cooperation with the Higher Cinema Institute and the Artistic Creativity Centre, last week (from 12 to 15 October). Mr Go Nagai gave a lecture to the public and a workshop to specialists in cartoon making and manga comic books and magazines. He spoke about the robots manga, especially about Mazinger and Grendizer, then screened one of the latest episodes of “Mazinger Z”.
Cairo was the third stop on the artist’s Middle East tour after Jordan and Kuwait.
Mr Go Nagai has been particularly prolific in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. Born in 1945 and raised in Tokyo, he made his debut in 1968 with the short story Meakashi porikichi (Polikichi the Detective) in Bokura magazine, and soon became a top manga artist. In 1969 he established Dynamic Productions for projects in animation and live action films. In 1972 he released the first adventure of Mazinger Z, the first giant robot controlled by a man sitting inside its body, thus creating the prolific robot genre which is still today the trademark of Japanese animation. In 1980, he was awarded the 4th Kodansha Manga Award for the Sci-Fi manga Susano-oh.
The sea rejoices
The Anna Lindh Foundation held its first cultural festival at the medieval Qaitbay Fort in Alexandria last Friday and Saturday. Under the theme ‘Sea Delight’, a plethora of cultural and artistic events were introduced, including Palestinian and Greek dancing, theatrical shows, folk narrative, handcrafts from places all over Egypt such as Assiut, Siwa, and Port Said, as well as typical foods offered by various expatriate communities in Egypt. For children there were puppet and magic shows, henna tattoo, and kite flying. Mediterranean music was strongly present, with joint performances between musicians and ensembles from different countries, such as one with the Egyptian Mohamed Antar and the Spanish Fernando Peres who presented a charming mix of Egyptian and flamenco music.
The festival was the joint effort of the Anna Lindh Foundation—founded in 2005 with the membership of NGOs from 43 Mediterranean countries to promote closer Mediterranean cultural relations—and the European Commission and the BA.
Nefertiti at new home
The famous 3,300-year-old bust of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti has been moved to its new permanent home at Berlin’s restored Neues Museum. The city’s museum authority said that, earlier this month, officials moved Nefertiti “with the greatest care” from the adjacent Altes Museum, her temporary home in recent years. The plaster-and-limestone bust went on view to the public starting yesterday when the Neues Museum reopened. The building has been restored painstakingly after lying unused since World War II, when bomb damage ruined much of it. Nefertiti first went on show at the Neues Museum—one of five buildings that makes up Berlin’s neoclassical Museum Island complex—before the war.
Egyptian filmfest in Delhi
In a step towards strengthening Indo-Egypt relations, a week-long festival of Egyptian films showcasing the rich diversity of the country—from its traditions to food—was held in New Delhi earlier this month. The festival was organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in collaboration with the Egyptian Embassy in New Delhi. Youssef Shahine’s film The Destiny which won the Prix Du Cinquantième (50th Anniversary), for lifetime achievement. This prize was awarded to only three filmmakers in the history of Cannes. The film opened the festival the main focus of which were arts and culture. An Indian Cultural week held earlier this year in Egypt was a huge success.
The Family
Samira al-Mazahy
Thursday 8 October saw the unveiling of the statue La Famille by the Canadian sculptor Roger Langevin on the porch in front of the auditorium of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA). The bronze and polyester statue, which the sculptor donated to BA, depicts the mother, father, and child closely connected and clasping hands, in a formation strongly reminiscent of ancient Egyptian sculpture.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by Egypt’s former ambassador to Paris Ali Maher on behalf of the BA director Ismail Serageldin who was outside Egypt, Canada’s ambassador to Cairo Mr Ferry de Kerckhove, Roger Langevin, members of the Canadian community in Egypt, and a host of public figures from the art sector.
Mr Langevin has been producing works of art and sculpture for the past 50 years. He is a professor at Quebec University and has founded an art school in east Quebec.