The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

The Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival is back, and with it comes a whole host of unique performances and artists from around the world – and, lest we forget, from right here in Egypt, too. This year, the festival is shaping up to be even bigger and better. Here’s what’s going on during D-CAF’s first week. 

Across Downtown, the SmART Mobile Film Festival showcases the works of Arab filmmakers, throughout the whole duration of D-CAF. Thursdaysees Salma El Tarzi’s documentary, ‘Underground/On the Surface’, kick start the festival’s film screening program at Radio Cinema, while. Egyptian shaabi superstar, Islam Chipsy, opens D-CAF’s music program along with Dutch/South African duo, Skip&Die, at Sherezade.

Things really kick into gear on Friday, with AUC’s Greek Campus hosting several theatrical performances; Lotte Sigh’s ‘Remind Me’, a unique performance by the dancers of Mashy and improvisational piece, ‘I’ll Dance While You’re Dancing & We Will Have Danced Together’, all of which will run throughout the week.

Later on at AUC’s Greek Campus, the first installment of the Francophone Short Films screenings takes place, while at Viennoise Hotel, Scottish artiste, Billy Cowie, collaborates with Egyptian dancer, Sherine Hegazy for ‘Art of Movement’.

Elsewhere, Borsa Street will be awash with dance, with Invisible Boundaries and 100Hands’ Running Nucleus debuting.

On Sunday, Odeon Cinema will screen Hugo Latulippe’s Alphée des étoiles; a unique and very personal film that looks at Latulippe’s daughter, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder. There are more screenings at Odeon Cinema throughout the week; on Monday, it’s Swiss film, Left Foot, Right Foot, while on Tuesday Benjamin d’Aoust’s masterpiece La Nuit Qu’on Suppose will be screened. On Wednesday, meanwhile, Un Mois En Thailandwill be screened.

Stay tuned for more next week.