Wednesday 9 December will see the Cairo Opera House honour the 104th birthday of Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz (1911 – 1996) at the Small Hall. Culture Minister Helmy al-Namnam will participate in the event, as will Cairo Opera House Director Ines Abdel-Dayem.
The prominent writer Youssef al-Qaeed will preside over the soiree. Participating will be film director Hashem al-Nahhas, novelist Salwa Bakr, critic Amany Fouad, and broadcaster Jihan al-Reedy who will act as moderator. The discussion will centre on the most important features of Mahfouz’s characters and works. The documentary Naguib Mahfouz: The Conscience of His Time, directed by Nahhas, will be screened.
Mahfouz is an iconic prolific Egyptian writer who started his writing career in the 1930s. He is famous for best depicting mainstream Egyptian characters and day-to-day life, in addition novels set in ancient Egypt and others written during his later years that tackled more philosophical issues through short glimpses of daily life. Many of his works have been turned into films, making him probably the writer with the most novels-turned-films to his name.
Watani International
8 December 2015