CULTURE: Egyptian Filmmakers Bring Sadat’s Life To The Big Screen

Hot on the heels of his 1996 blockbuster hit Nasser 56, which explored the life and times of late Egyptian President Gamal Abdul-Nasser, actor Ahmed Zaki plans to portray another of the country's head of state on the big screen.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-JAMAICA: Annual Pantomime Looks To Break Theatre Award Jinx

There was a time when going to the pantomime in Jamaica was a social occasion. Not so these days when one of the country's oldest forms of theatre has taken a backseat to more conventional stage productions.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ANTHROPOLOGY-VENEZUELA: Cyberspace Showcase of Native Cultures

Twelve indigenous groups living in the depths of the Venezuelan Amazon are the protagonists of a 350-item exhibit that allows Internet users to explore the mysteries of these ancestral cultures, whose survival is threatened by the real inroads of the modern world.

ARTS-SINGAPORE: The Next Regional Arts Hot Spot?

First it aimed to be South-east Asia's financial hub. Then came its plans to become the place to be in the region for information technology. Now Singapore has made known its ambitions to be a mecca for arts and culture as well.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ART-CENTRAL AMERICA: Festival Offers Relief from Economic Stress

Actors, musicians, folklorists and writers from throughout Central America are taking part in a major arts festival in the Costa Rican capital, in an attempt to provide some respite from the stresses of widespread economic problems.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/UZBEKISTAN: Folk Traditions Thrive in Post- Soviet Era

The break-up of the former Soviet Union may have caused an enormous financial crisis for many of Russia's acclaimed arts institutions, but for the former republics, independence has meant a revival of their folk traditions.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-MEXICO: City Theatres to Be Reserved for Nation’s Own

The capital's authorities have decided to purchase four film theatres, which will be reserved exclusively for showing nationally-made films, a body of work that requires major surgery to heal the wounds left by decades of neglect.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CUBA: Cultural Scene on the Upswing after ‘Lost Decade’

As the year 2000 progresses, signs have begun to appear in the Cuban capital that a major cultural renaissance is brewing, following the "lost decade" of the 1990s - though residents may not yet be completely aware of what is occurring around them.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-JAMAICA: Purist Jazz Alive and Well at Ocho Rios

With no marquee names and an unapologetic bias toward the purist, Jamaica's Ocho Rios Jazz Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary in June with a lineup of the lesser-known but talented performers it has made its reputation on.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-BRAZIL: The Dreams of the Landless

Rose never saw her dream of a plot of land for her family come true. She was run over by a truck that slammed into a protest by peasant farmers in March 1987. But the dream did come true for many of her landless friends, whose story will soon be on the big screen.

/ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-US: Museum Explores Beauty and Complexity of “Black Hair”

A new exhibit at the Museum of African Art in Manhattan explores the diversity, aesthetics and significance of African hairstyles, and celebrates the cultural influences that have gone into looks ranging from Caribbean- influenced dreadlocks to kinky Afros, elaborate braiding, beading and extensions.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT//CINEMA: Mexico Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Buñuel’s Birth

Mexico, which astounded Luis Buñuel with its rampant corruption, violence and "inferiority complex," and which became the setting for a majority of his films, has joined in the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Spanish surrealist filmmaker.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-JAPAN: Now Showing — Asian Movies

More and more cinemas in Japan are starting to show films and documentaries from Asia, responding to their growing popularity among movie fans who are flocking to full houses to watch films that up to now lay in the shadow of their western counterparts.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/PHOTOGRAPHY-LATAM: Young Artists ‘Click’ for Peace

Adolescents from the Southern Cone of the Americas will be the stars of an artistic endeavour to be put on display this year in Madrid and Paris. For the project they must arm themselves with a camera - and something more.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CINEMA-VENEZUELA: Local Filmmaking Industry Fights for a Space

The first Venezuelan-produced film released in the year 2000 waited two years for an opening at a movie theatre, and then lasted just two weeks at the box office, with scant publicity and little co-operation from distributors, who show a marked preference for US-made movies.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/BOOKS-SRI LANKA: Rot Sets In Public Libraries Starved of Funds

What do you do if you are a bookworm and don't have the money to buy books in Sri Lanka -- which is the fate of the majority of the book reading public? Go to its public libraries.

CULTURE-US: Gems of Islamic Philosophy Introduced to English World

In its more than 14 centuries of existence, the Islamic religion has given birth to a wealth of texts on science, theology and culture, and boasts more than a billion followers worldwide today.

ART-NIGERIA: Gani Odutokun Retrospective Hailed in London

A retrospective exhibition here of the most famous works of the late Nigerian artist Gani Odutokun has reaffirmed his place as one of the most respected artist to come out of Africa this century.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/BOOKS-JAMAICA: A Guide to the Creme de la Creme of Reggae

Following the mania for "best of" lists at the close of the 20th century, two Englishmen put their heads together last year and singled out what they believe are the 100 best reggae albums for a book entitled "Reggae 100 Essential CDs: The Rough Guide."

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ MUSIC-JAMAICA: With Kudos Abroad, Marley’s Star Finally Rises at Home

Once shunned by Jamaica's ruling class, Bob Marley is now being lauded by the island's luminaries, from talk show hosts and religious leaders to politicians, as a champion against oppression during week-long celebrations commemorating his 55th birthday.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ CINEMA-TURKEY: Guney’s spectre haunts Turkey

Greek movie director Costa Gavras's project to film the life story of late Turkish-Kurdish film director Yilmaz Guney has stirred a heated debate here about Guney's artistic legacy as well as his place in history as a "model freedom fighter."