Noon Foundation for Culture and Art - Noon Foundation for Culture and Art

Noon Foundation for Culture & Arts’ main goals:

The development of cultural and artistic activities in all Egyptian regions and more particularly those regions that suffer the most from the absence of such activities.

Organizing cinematographic events, photo and plastic arts exhibitions and music concerts in view to encourage Egyptian artistic creation in all its forms.

The development of cultural and artistic exchanges and relations between Egypt and various other countries of the world through the organization of international and Egyptian cultural, cinematographic and artistic events in Egypt and throughout the world.

Consolidating relationships through the organization of training workshops in all domains in order to carry out a transfer of experiences, specifically in the field of new digital technologies

The development of local competences and the formation of cultural cadres necessary for the follow up on the activities initiated by the foundation.

Organizing thematic meetings as well as cultural and artistic colloquies in order to operate a real exchange between national and international actors.

Noon Foundation for Culture & Arts’ Board of Administration:

Mohamed Kamel El Kalioubi President

Salma El Shamaa Vice-president

Magda Wassef General Manager

Gamal Zayda Secretary General

Wadid Shokry Treasurer

Founding members:

Daoud Abdel Sayed

Youssef Cherif Rizkallah

*NOON signifies in hieroglyphics: Heavens, earth and water

Mohamed El Kalioubi

Director, screenwriter, cinema historian and critic

An engineer by formation, El Kalioubi studied cinema at Cairo’s Higher Institute for Cinema before joining the VIGIK in Moscow where he discusses his PHD dissertation in 1986.

Screenwriter of his own movies, he has directed three feature films, 1993: Three on the Road (Talata Al Tarik),1994: Why does the Sea Laugh? (El Bahr BeyedhakLeh?), 2004: Adam’s autumn (Kharif Adam).

He also directed numerous documentaries among which: Mohamed Bayumi, Chronicle of a Lost Time and Rosa El Youssef as well as various television dramas.

His first two films have won great acclaim and were very successful at the box-office. They were awarded several national and international prizes.

Salma EL Shamaa

Journalist and TV host

Salma El Shamaa started her career as a journalist at Al-Ahram daily. In the beginning of the 1970’s she joined the Egyptian television as a presenter and launched an entertainment program which became a huge success El Nadi El Dawli (The international Club). She also hosted an important political talk show called A Friend from Africa where she met with African heads of states. She then went on to present a series of cinema programs

among which Zoom and Zakerat Al Cinema (The Memory of Cinema) which became emblematic. She contributed through her work to create awareness on cinematic issues and to influence the cinema industry. Salma succeeded in convincing the authorities of the urgency to restore classical films which were in danger of disappearing.

At the end of the 70’s, she left for Paris, France where she worked as a journalist in Radio Monte-Carlo. During her stay in Paris she collaborated with Michel Drucker and Frederic Rossif.

Gamal Zayda

Political journalist

He has obtained a BA in Mass Communication from Cairo University in 1976.

Editing director of Al Ahram daily, he is also a political thought columnist. Each week he also writes a chronicle in Al Ahram Massai (the evening Ahram) and another one in the economic weekly Al Ahram al Iqtisadi. He has been assistant editor in chief of Al Ahram.

From 2002 to 2007, he headed Al Ahram bureau in Canada

where he published articles and interviews on major events in Canada and the United States and has met with politicians, deputies as well as members of the civil society and NGOs. He also collaborates with Al Khaleej daily (the Golf) at Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates where he analyses the economic and financial development of Dubai, in the UAE, and in the general Golf zone.

Wadid Shokri

Photographer

He obtained a B. SC. in Photography from the faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University, Egypt in 1978. He also studied Egyptology. From 1978 to 1981 he was a cameraman at the Egyptian television.

From 1981 to 1999, he joined Kodak Egypt where he managed the photography professional market as well as the laboratory and photo printing.

As marketing director, he contributed to the expansion of Kodak’s photo development activities in Egypt through the promotion of Kodak’s program of franchise concepts before launching Kodak Express in Egypt. This program covered all domains, from training, financial arrangements and configuring the site, to promotion and marketing strategies.

In 1992, he succeeded in consolidating relations with business publishing professionals. For a period of 7 years, from 1992 to 1999, sales in this sector of activity have quadrupled and the ties with professional photography and graphic arts were strengthened.

Magda Wassef

Arab cinema critic and historian

In 1983, she obtains a PHD in Cinema and History from l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). In 1978, she obtains a DEA from the same school (EHESS), in 1976 the Studies diploma in Cinematographic research from the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris and in 1968 a BS???? in Business Administration from Cairo University in Egypt.

From 1978 to 1988, Wassef has occupied the position of editor for the Cinema pages in the weekly Al Mostqbal in Paris.

From 1988 to 2008, she headed the cinema department at the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris. She was also General delegate of the Arab cinemas Biennale in Paris from 1992 to 2006, date of the eighth and last edition.

She has taught Arab Cinema at la Sorbonne and has participated to various radio and television programs in France. She has published numerous studies on Arab Cinema among which several Arab and French cinematographic reviews.

Daoud Abdel Sayed

Director and screenwriter

With a degree in directing from Cairo’s Higher Institute for Cinema in 1967, he worked as assistant director to Youssef Chahine and Kamal El Sheikh among others. He directed several short films and documentaries before signing his first fiction feature film: The Louts (Al Saalik) in 1985. 1991: Kit Kat (Al Kit Kat). 1993: In search of Said Marzouk (Al BahsAn Said Marzouk)

1995: Dreamland (Ard al Ahlam). 1995: The Joy Thief (Sarek al Farah).

2000: Land of Fear (Ard Al Khof). 2001: A citizen, an Informer and a Thief ( Mowaten, MokhberWaHarami). 2009: Messages from the Sea (Rassael Al Bahr).

An engaged and demanding director, Dawoud Abdel Sayed is one of the most original authors of Egyptian Cinema. A perfectionist, he only directed 8 films in a quarter of a century. Several of his films are adaptations of contemporary literary writers, in particular Ibrahim Aslan for Kit Kat and Messages from the Sea and KhairiShalabi for Dreamland.

Youssef Cherif Rizkallah

Cinema critic

He obtained a degree in Economy and Political science from Cairo University in 1966. He was editor then editor in chief of Arabic language TV News in the Egyptian television.

From 1997 to 2002, he headed the Nile International Channel.

From 2007 to 2011, he headed the International Cooperation department in Media City.

In February 2011, he was promoted General Manager of the Cinema Organism in Media City.

Since 1964, he became a cinema critic and has published numerous articles and studies in various newspapers and magazines.

He was president of Cairo’s Film Association from 1978 to 1994.

In 1975, he created the Cine-Club TV program at the Egyptian Television, and in 1980 another show called Oscar.