Art Imitates Life?

Art Imitates Life?

Yesterday I attempted to meet Blake at an obscure cafe downtown so we could attend a screening of "The Yacoubian Building" and a press conference with some of its stars at the Journalists Syndicate. As usual, his directions weren't clear and my sense of direction was totally off, so after I threw a hissy fit we ended up meeting at the Syndicate (conveniently located across the street from Fatahallah Arms).

Just around the corner, the Lawyers Syndicate was decked in protest of the events in Lebanon with posters of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, that read "Our Hearts Are With You" and banners denouncing the US and its Zionist allies. It came as no surprise when Blake told me that the Brotherhood has a bit of a foothold at the syndicate.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to get into the screening, so we went home and watched "As-Safara f'il 3amara," a recent film starring Adel Imam as a disgraced paramour who returns to his Cairo apartment after a twenty-five year absence, only to find that the Israeli Embassy has moved in next door. Wacky hijinks and soul-searching redemption ensue.

A lot of the scenes featured in the movie happened to be the very same places where we were wandering about that afternoon: the High Court, the Journalists Syndicate, etc. Popular places of protest these days, be it against the government, against Israel, against the American occupation in (Fill in the Blank)...It's funny to think sometimes how despite being a city of roughly 20 million, you still always recognize the same places on screen.