The musical performance “Where is My Heart,” which is currently being shown in Cairo, recalls some of the human, personal and artistic features of the late Egyptian musician Mohamed Fawzi, on the sixtieth anniversary of his passing.
Mohamed Zaki, the director and author of the work, confirms that presenting the biography of Mohamed Fawzi, known as the “renewed” musician, in a theatrical work was occupying him and on his mind until the producer of the show contacted him, who in turn wanted to deal with Fawzi’s biography artistically, and their ideas converged, and preparations began several months ago.
Muhammad Zaki explained in his interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that the “biography” is an important project, and the treatment of characters must be different in order to touch people’s hearts, adding: “The crisis lies in dealing with the biography and the attractive narrative, away from presenting a detailed biography similar to documentary works; “So I relied on approaching it from different aspects and specific shots.”
Mohamed Zaki added that Dr. Mounir Fawzi, son of the late artist, helped us a lot. He welcomed the presentation, reviewed the text, and added important information to us, pointing out that the text addresses the nature of the late musician’s relationship with his friends and family, his dream and the record factory. Even the name of the show, “Where is My Heart,” has a special meaning that depends on the events.
Zaki stressed that “the show, which carries one of Mohamed Fawzi’s most famous songs, includes a new song that carries his spirit and different music, in addition to other songs and performances,” adding: “Mohamed Fawzi developed music and presented new melodies, some of which the play uses for people to enjoy and live a distinctive experience.”
Muhammad Zaki revealed that the play witnesses the emergence of prominent figures in his life, such as Hoda Sultan, Madiha Yousry, Farid Shawqi, Farid Al-Atrash, Zeenat Sidqi, Maamoun Al-Shennawi, Ismail Yassin, Baligh Hamdi, Umm Kulthum, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Muhammad Abdel Wahab, stressing that the choice of the heroes was precise, and that the majority of them were not stars, but they worked in the theater, while he focused on choosing the character Fawzi presented by the artist. Young Muhammad Hassan has an artistic spirit.
Muhammad Zaki expressed his love for writing autobiographies. Before the screening of “Where is My Heart,” he presented plays such as “The Artist,” based on the biography of Zeenat Sidqi, and “Umm Kulthum,” which was shown in the “Riyadh Season” 5 years ago, and there is another show about “The Lady of Arab Singing” presented by Marwa Naji, in addition to writing a new theatrical script about an artistic personality that will be a surprise to the audience.
Dr. Mounir Muhammad Fawzi, son of the late artist, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Presenting the biographies of influential figures is important for monitoring the details of their lives. To satisfy the public’s desires to know more about them.” Despite Mounir’s happiness with the show, he believes that the artist’s works and productions are the most important in his life and after his passing, pointing out that he had never before been offered to dramatize his father’s biography, and that “Where is My Heart” is the first work that addresses details of his life. He confirms that “the makers of the show assured him that the spirit of Mohamed Fawzi’s character will be strongly present and is the tyrant, not his features,” adding: “The theatrical show is like a book from which the audience will read.”
Mounir Fawzi revealed that he spoke with the makers of “Where is My Heart” because they did not initially mention in the text the years of his father’s marriage to his mother, Mrs. Hedaya Abdel Mohsen, the first wife of the late artist, and her standing by him, stressing that “shedding light on this period is very important, as their marriage lasted 9 years, which witnessed him presenting many films.”
Several months ago, the Algerian Ministry of Culture and Arts honored the name of Mohamed Fawzi, the composer of the Algerian national anthem, “An Oath,” in the presence of his son, Dr. Mounir, on the occasion of the celebration of the 64th anniversary of Independence and Youth Days. Artistically, Mohamed Fawzi presented many cinematic roles, including “Laila Bint Al-Shati,” “Miss Mama,” “Every Beat in My Heart,” “The Revolution of the City,” “Eve’s Daughters,” and “Roses of Love.” And “Fael Al-Khair”, in addition to presenting the most famous children’s songs such as “Mama, Her Time is Coming” and “The Night is Gone.”
From the cotton fields in the Sudanese countryside, to the war-weary streets of Khartoum, “Hay Cinema” in Jeddah is taking its audience, during the current month of November, on two cinematic trips to Sudan, through the two films; The novelist “The Cotton Queen” and the documentary “Khartoum”, which present two different images of Sudanese society, in which questions of memory, identity and social transformations intersect with the destinies of individuals, in a program that highlights Sudanese cinema.
The screening of the two films comes after their participation in prominent international film festivals, as part of a program that also includes the Palestinian film “Once Upon a Time in Gaza,” and a French work that restores the beginnings of rap music in the suburbs of Paris, according to the program of screenings this month that “Cinema Hay” announced on its website.
A tale from the countryside
In “The Cotton Queen,” director Susanna Mirghani combines a story of growing up and self-discovery with the extended impact of colonial history. Mirghani recorded a historic achievement as the first Sudanese woman to direct a film to be shown at the 82nd session of the Venice International Film Festival.
The events of “The Cotton Queen” take place in a Sudanese village that depends on cotton cultivation, where the girl “Nafisa” lives a simple life between harvesting the crop and learning from her grandmother, before a young Sudanese businessman arrives who threatens to change the family’s lifestyle upside down. The 93-minute film is a joint production between Sudan, Germany, France, Palestine, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and is shown for the first time in the Kingdom, with screenings continuing until December 5.
Khartoum and survivor stories
In contrast to the rural life depicted by “The Cotton Queen,” the documentary film “Khartoum” transports the viewer to a different reality, where the stories of five people are intertwined trying to continue their lives in a war-torn country. The work monitors the dreams and daily challenges of its characters, in light of political turmoil and the struggle for freedom and survival, approaching the impact of war on the lives of individuals and its repercussions on their ambitions and future.
The documentary is signed by a group of directors: Anas Saeed, Rawya Al-Hajj, Ibrahim Snoopy, Taima Ahmed, Youssef Juba, and Philip Cox, in a collective directing experience that brings together multiple visions about the city and its residents. The film was previously shown at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as at the 75th session of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2025, before arriving to the Saudi audience in exclusive screenings that continue until the beginning of next month.
The two films present two different images of Sudan. One restores rural life and the population's relationship with the land and traditions, and the other is concerned with the repercussions of war on the lives of individuals. Although the two styles differ between fictional drama and documentary cinema, they are united by interest in the transformations witnessed by Sudanese society, and their repercussions on the fates of its characters.
Gaza and black comedy
From Sudan to Palestine, the program shows the film “Once Upon a Time in Gaza,” directed by the two brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, which won the “Best Direction” award in the “Un Certain Regard” section during the 78th session of the Cannes Film Festival in 2025.
The events of the film revolve around “Yahya”, who develops a friendship between him and “Osama”, the owner of a restaurant, which leads them to work together in selling drugs while delivering orders, before things become complicated following a confrontation with a corrupt policeman. The film mixes drama and black comedy, and it is shown for the first time in the Kingdom as part of the “Live Cinema” program, with its showings continuing until next December 5.
French rebellious music
As for French cinema, it will be present through the film “Supreme” by director Audrey Estrogo, as part of the “Monthly Film Club Screenings” of the “French Cultural Institute” at “Cinema Hay”. The film returns to France in the early nineties, when tensions escalated between the police and youth in the suburbs of Paris, and hip-hop music emerged as a means of expressing anger and social protest. Through the biography of the two young men, Joey Starr and Cole Sheen, the work recalls the emergence of the band Supreme NTM, which became one of the most prominent French rap groups and the voice of a generation that found in music a space to express its reality. The film was previously shown at the 74th Cannes Film Festival in 2021, and combines drama and musical biography, recalling a period that witnessed social and cultural transformations in France.
Researchers in Italy have developed an innovative polymeric membrane that may pave the way for the manufacture of batteries that do not rely on lithium, are non-flammable, and have the theoretical ability to store energy equivalent to about twice what traditional lithium-ion batteries store, which opens the door to a new generation of safer and more sustainable batteries.
The innovation came at the hands of a research team from the Department of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan. The researchers succeeded in designing a semi-rigid, non-flammable gel membrane that allows fluoride ions to move inside the battery at room temperature. The results of the study were published on Friday in the journal Energy Storage Materials.
The most notable achievement of the researchers is the development of a membrane that allows the use of fluoride ions instead of lithium ions to transfer electrical charges inside batteries, which may reduce dependence on lithium, whose extraction and processing requires natural resources and industrial processes that have an environmental impact. Fluoride batteries, which are still under development, are characterized by the possibility of relying on materials that are more abundant in nature compared to lithium, as well as their lower risk of combustion, which may make them a promising option for renewable energy storage systems.
The study's lead researcher, Maurizio Sansottera, from the Polytechnic University of Milan, said that the production of renewable energy sources peaks at times that do not necessarily coincide with periods of high consumption, which makes energy storage necessary to ensure that it can be used when needed. He added on the university's website that European countries are working to develop systems to store electricity generated from renewable sources, but the spread of these systems still faces challenges, including the fire risks associated with traditional batteries. He explained that the new polymeric membrane is non-flammable, which reduces the risk of fires, in addition to its reliance on an element that is widely available in nature.
Multiple advantages
The advantages of the new technology are not limited to enhancing safety, but may also allow the production of lighter batteries that are more capable of storing energy. According to the researchers, the theoretical energy density of these batteries can reach about 600 watt-hours per kilogram, compared to about 150 to 250 watt-hours per kilogram in traditional lithium-ion batteries.
The researchers indicated that achieving this density may allow electric cars to travel distances up to twice what they currently travel on a single charge, although this remains a possibility linked to the possibility of reaching these levels in practical batteries. Potential applications of this technology may not be limited to electric cars, but also include energy storage systems, drones, satellites, and aircraft.
An important advantage of the new membrane is that it allows the transfer of fluoride ions at room temperature, without the need to preheat the battery to improve the movement of ions inside it. The researchers explained that previous generations of fluoride-ion batteries required temperatures ranging between 100 and 150 degrees Celsius to enhance ionic conduction, which led to the consumption of part of the stored energy in the form of heat.
They concluded that this development represents an important step towards developing a new generation of batteries that combines high energy density, greater safety, and reduced dependence on lithium, with prospects for future use in the sectors of transportation, aviation, and renewable energy storage.
