Lebanese actress Carmen Bsaibes is unlike anyone else in the artistic community. As she told Asharq Al-Awsat, from her beginnings she followed her path without caring much about what was happening around her. She set her goals in front of her and proceeded with steady steps, refusing to deviate from her convictions. When we tell her that she looks different from others, she replies: “I don’t think so.” The only thing is that I tried to avoid any pollution that might come my way. I did not accept the work under the pretext of (supposedly).”
Bsaibes, who won the “Murex D’or” award for best Lebanese actress in a first role, points out that she discovered the “artistic game” from its beginnings, and realized its aspects and risks, so she chose to deal with it according to her convictions: “This method of mine saved me many pitfalls, so I achieved success and gained people’s love, and that is enough for me.”
The “Murex d’Or” award, which she won for the series “Lail”, is the first she has won in her career. Do you think this honor came too late? She replies: “I do not think according to this equation, and I thank the party that provided it to me. “Ward’s” role in “Lail” tired me a lot, and it is nice to receive this appreciation for him.”
But her role in “The Bride of Beirut” was also one of the most beautiful things she performed. She comments: “This series is a part of my heart. It was the first Arabized work to be shown on screen, and it won the Audience Award at the time. What matters to me is that I do what suits my aspirations and ambitions. I do not work with the aim of winning awards, nor with the aim of spreading, otherwise I would have followed another method.”
She talks about Ward’s character in “Lail,” and describes her as having a difficult structure. It embodies a woman who was assaulted by the people closest to her, which left a deep wound in her soul, especially since no one believed her story, even her father and her lover. Thus, the character was composed of layers, while her main concern was ensuring a safe life for her daughter: “She has the maturity of a warrior woman who suffered alone. Over the course of 90 episodes, it took me into a world of sadness and cruelty. “It was never easy to handle the role.”
She points out that her portrayal of him coincided with the birth of her daughter, so she had to move with her and her husband to Türkiye for 9 months to film. Regarding the difference between her first experience in “The Bride of Beirut” and the second in “Lail,” she says: “The difference is huge. The first was spontaneous and aware of her dreams, while the second required depth, consistency, and maturity. The role exhausted me, and when I finished filming, I took a breath, as if I had lifted a huge weight from my shoulders. “I longed to return to my normal life, because it constantly put me in a sad, dramatic atmosphere.”
Basibis believes that Arabized works remain a successful phenomenon as long as they enjoy great demand from Arab viewers. You find that this type of work, known as “sup opera,” may be marred by repetition and lengthening, but that is part of its foundation. His presence on the scene also contributes to diversity, in addition to Ramadan, local and joint works. She says: “Diversification is necessary, and people need entertainment and distraction from their worries.” When Arabized works include important topics, they achieve their goals and provide job opportunities for a large number of actors.”
As for local dramatic productions, they are considered a source of pride for Lebanon, as they contain the most important elements of drama, and demonstrate the capabilities of actors and directors and their creative and diligent energies. She participated in one of them, “The Innocent,” with Eagle Films, which is a work she loves and enjoyed implementing.
Regarding whether she aspires to play a role in a comedy, she says: “I love comedy and am open to it, but it cannot be underestimated at all. Therefore, it must be based on people who are professionals in making it and whose abilities I trust. The director of this type of work must also be professional to prevent mistakes. “We need comedies today more than ever.”
When she looks back at her career, she says: “I was not as mature as I am today. I couldn't evaluate things properly. But on the other hand, there are many projects that I have undertaken since my beginnings and have been successful, including some that I am proud of.”
In the movie “Gab the Cat,” Carmen Bsaibes appeared as a guest of honor. Didn't it bother her to move from the tournament to this space? She answers: “No.” Many Egyptian stars participated as guests of honor. That day, my friend, the film director, asked me to participate in this regard, and I saw in this experience a renewal of my career, and I enjoyed a lot.”
Currently, Carmen is reading the script of a new work, the details of which she is keeping secret, saying only that it is Lebanese. But she confirmed that she had not been offered any Ramadan work yet, and explained: “I read a text that did not convince me, so I apologized for not participating. I delve into my options and consult those around me. “It is difficult to make decisions alone, as we may not realize how right they are.”
74 years ago, with the issuance of the agricultural reform laws in Egypt in 1952, the elimination of feudalism, and the redistribution of land to farmers, the stereotypical view of the farmer in Egyptian society changed, and this change came in line with the trend announced by the 1952 Revolution, the necessity of caring for the farmer, giving him his rights, and empowering him with his land, which is the trend that art stars came forward to support, support, and spread in cinema, radio, songs, and later on television.
To this day, dramatic and cinematic works continue to deal with the Egyptian countryside, as appeared before in songs such as: “Oh, the sweetness of Umm Ismail in the midst of her children” by “The People’s Artist” Sayed Darwish, or “Hallaha is the life of the farmer” by Asmahan, or the song “A farmer was fighting to sing from beside the wall” by Sherifa Fadel, or the works of Abdel Halim Hafez such as: “With Embraces,” “Soura,” “We Are the People,” and the song Angham. The famous “Earth”. There are also many famous cinematic works that originated from the village community, such as: “Al-Bostaji,” “The Second Wife,” “The Forbidden,” and “The Land,” one of Youssef Chahine’s most important films. Finally, the image of rural people appeared in a way that seemed comical and sarcastic in the most recent film, “The Best Gentlemen.”
During today’s celebration of the 74th anniversary of the Egyptian Peasant’s Day, did songs, cinema and drama do justice to the people of the countryside and present them in the image they deserve? A question answered by the head of the Farmers Syndicate, Hussein Abu Saddam, by saying: “Songs and films that cared about farmers and monitored their lives and issues have declined to a great extent,” adding to Asharq Al-Awsat: “Before, we used to wait for the series The Secret of the Earth every Friday, which no longer happens, but with the new development the vision must keep pace with reality, because the farmer today is not the farmer of the movie (The Earth), but rather has become civilized and developed to a great extent.”
He pointed out that “some films or dramas used to present the image of the farmer as a tired person who is always suffering, which is not realistic. There are also some clubs or places that prevent the farmer from entering in his robes, even though it is an authentic Egyptian dress. This stereotype must change, and attention must be paid to monitoring the farmer’s new life. Since the song (Malhaha Aisha Al-Falah), we have not heard a song or seen material this beautiful about farmers.”
Abu Saddam called for changing the image of the farmer in cinema, songs, and drama, to encourage farmers and motivate them to play their role in society, which is the central role of maintaining food security, pride in the homeland, and belonging, because he knows the value of the land on which he lives. On the occasion of Farmer’s Day, the Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Alaa Farouk, congratulated the masses of peasants and farmers in various governorates, stressing the state’s full appreciation for their efforts and their extended contribution in producing and providing citizens’ needs of commodities and basic food products. He added in a statement by the ministry, on Wednesday, that the Egyptian farmer has proven his constant concern for market stability and the continuation of production despite the economic challenges and successive climate fluctuations witnessed in the region and the world.
For his part, Egyptian art critic Tareq El-Shenawy believes that “there is an interest in films about peasants, and monitoring their reality in different dramatic images in cinema and drama.” He added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “I think that peasants are present in art in an appropriate way, and more appropriate even than the Sa’idites. Perhaps the oppressed in this matter are our Bedouin people.” He continues: “The issue of fairness may be somewhat large, and difficult to measure, but no one denies The films presented Al-Falah in a good way, but the songs are few, the most famous of which is “Aisha Al-Falah,” and we note that it is the only song in which Bayram Al-Tunisi and Abdel-Wahab come together.”
Deep-rooted works remain in the memory of Egyptian cinema, such as the films: “Zeinab,” “The Egyptian Citizen,” and “A Thing of Fear,” and series such as: “Al-Barari and Al-Hamoul,” “Al-Wattad,” “People in Kafr Askar,” and “Al-Wasiya,” and various songs, including works that trace agricultural folklore, such as: “Don’t Bring Me Chocolate” by Souad Hosni, and the songs of the Peasant Band, especially Khadra Muhammad Khidr. And Fatima Sarhan.
Egyptian art critic Ahmed Saad El-Din believes that “the July Revolution of 1952 did justice to the farmer to a great extent, and from this justice the soft powers, represented by cinema, songs, and later television, focused on him. We found many important works that celebrated the farmers, monitored their reality, and the community of rural people in a positive and celebratory manner, as we saw with Sharifa Fadel and her famous song (Falah Can Fayet Sings from Beside the Wall), and other similar works that “I won for the farmer, and put him at the forefront of the scene,” Saad Eddin adds to Asharq Al-Awsat: “But with time, the presence of the farmer in artistic works declined, even if it began to appear in passing, such as the operetta The Big Night, which was sung for the farmers, and the Upper Egypt, and like some of the few works in cinema or drama, but it did not monitor developments in the image of the people of the countryside, nor did it focus on them, as was the case with the beginnings of the 1952 revolution.”
Researchers have discovered human remains dating back to the late Middle Pleistocene era in southwestern China, including the first Denisovan radius bone, one of two long forearm bones.
The study, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, was carried out by a research team led by Professor Fu Xiaomei from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with several institutions.
The study researchers used an innovative strategy known as ZooMS to identify additional human bones from an archaeological site dating back to the Paleolithic era, called Bianfu Cave in Yunnan Province, southwest China, where analysis of ancient proteins confirmed that 5 human remains belong to the Denisovans.
ZooMS technology has recently become an important tool for large-scale examination of hominin fossils, due to its advantages of non-invasive sampling, simplicity of methodology, rapid identification, and low cost. Because more than 60,000 bone fragments were found in Bienfo Cave, performing ZooMS analysis on all samples would be expensive and ineffective.
Denisovans are a group of genetically identified hominins that are believed to have been widespread in Asia. Due to the small number of fossil remains, especially the bones located below the skull, there has been a gap regarding the geographical distribution in southwestern China for a long time. Little is known about the physical traits that enabled Denisovans to adapt to different environments.
To overcome this challenge, the researchers developed an innovative strategy that combines preliminary morphological examination with the use of ZooMS technology. Through preliminary morphological examination, the researchers selected 22 possible human remains from a large collection of bone fragments. ZooMS analysis confirmed that two fragments of the parietal bone (skull bone) and one fragment of the radius bone belonged to hominins.
Of the three new hominin specimens, two specimens belong to a terrestrial layer, which in turn contained 4 human teeth. This layer has been dated to approximately 148 to 134 thousand years ago. While the third sample was found in another older layer, dating back to approximately 167 to 150 thousand years ago. In addition to the three hominin bones, the research team analyzed two human molars extracted from the first layer.
To determine the population affiliation of these human samples, the research team systematically screened for single amino acid polymorphisms (SAPs) within endogenous proteins. They found that the five samples carried the Denisovan-specific variant, COL1A2 R996K, indicating their identity as Denisovans. Three additional SAPs of significance were also identified in the enamel of two Bienfo Cave teeth: the Denisovan-associated AMBN M273V variant; and the variant AMELY 179L, which is a variant shared between modern humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans; and the variant AMBN 253A, a variant that distinguishes the Bianfu Cave individuals from Homo erectus from the Middle Pleistocene of East Asia.
Using the consensus sequences of endogenous proteins from each sample, the researchers constructed Bayesian evolutionary trees with structures that were largely consistent with those obtained from nuclear genome studies. The results showed that modern humans are the sister group to the Neanderthal-Denisovan lineage. This result is consistent with the SAP classifications, supporting the reliable affiliation of these specimens to Denisovans.
It is worth noting that the discovered radius bone is the only confirmed Denisovan so far. According to the researchers, the first identified Denisovan radius bone fragment is of exceptional importance.
