???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT–

(all times CLT)

What was going on at the Oscars yesterday?

The Best Picture award was handed to CODA. The film follows a 17-year-old girl who is the only hearing member of her family, working mornings before school to help her parents and brother keep their fishing business afloat. However, when she joins the school choir, she realizes that she has a penchant for singing. The lead actress, Emilia Jones, learned sign language for nine months to be able to communicate with her fellow actors on set.

Other prizes for CODA: Director Sian Heder was given the trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay. Best Actor in a Supporting Role also went to Troy Kotsur for his role in the film, making him the first hard of hearing male actor to snag this award.

This is the first time that a film by a streamer took home the prestigious award. CODA is an original Apple TV+ movie and beat Netflix’s Power of the Dog for the prize.

Unsurprisingly, Dune was handed a plethora of awards: The film was celebrated for having the Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Original Score (thank you Hans Zimmer). Zimmer actually skipped the Oscars and instead celebrated at a hotel bar with his daughter at 2am — the accompanying picture features Zimmer in his robe while an award is delicately placed in the pocket.

Meanwhile, Will Smith was named best actor for his performance in King Richard but the feat was overshadowed by a slap he delivered to presenter Chris Rock. Smith made his way on stage and slapped Rock after he joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair, which she keeps short due to having alopecia. Rock has decided against pressing charges. You can watch both King Richard and Dune on HBO Max or OSN.

• Best Actress in a Leading Role went to Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye. The film also received the award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
• Jane Campion was named Best Director for her work on The Power of the Dog.
• Best Original Song went to No Time to Die by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell.
• Summer of Soul was awarded the Best Documentary prize.
• Best Original Screenplay was given to Belfast (Kenneth Branagh).
• Best Costume Design was handed to Jenny Beavan for her (stellar) work in Cruella.
• Japan’s Drive My Car was named Best International Feature Film.
• Encanto was given the title of Best Animated Feature Film.
• The title of Best Actress in a Supporting Role went to Ariana DeBose for her role in West Side Story.

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⚽ Tomorrow is the big day: The return match between Egypt and Senegal will start at 7pm as part of the final stage of the African qualifiers for the World Cup. The Pharaohs came out on top with a solo goal in the first leg at Cairo Stadium on Friday, giving us a one-goal advantage in the road to Qatar.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

(all times CLT)

Captains of Zaatari — named Best Arab Documentary Film at El Gouna Festival and second-best film in Sundance — is currently being screened at three Egyptian cinemas until 30 March. Created by Egyptian director Ali El Arabi, the film follows the two young boys living in the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan over the span of eight years. Best friends Mahmoud and Fawzi are committed to making it big as professional soccer players despite the background from which they come. They train everyday without fail, even though the camp has no equipment or training facilities. One day, a world-renowned sports academy visits the camp and the two boys have the chance of finally making it to their dream. You can watch Captains of Zaatari at Cairo Festival City Cinema at 6pm, Zamalek Cinema at 6pm, or Vox Mall of Egypt Cinema which has screenings throughout the day.

Searching for Zerzura group exhibition is ongoing at Bibliothek Egypt, featuring works of art created in the 2022 winter academy workshops organized by the Fayoum Art Center.

The Cairo Opera Company is performing Opera La Bohème starting today until 31 March at the Cairo Opera House in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Cairo. You can get tickets here.

Consoleya is hosting a creative meet-up titled Women of Art in collaboration with Jidar, featuring talks from a number of women in the local art space. The meet-up will see solo talks given by Dina Amin (motion artist and founder of Tinker Studio) as well as Deena Mohamed (designer, illustrator, and writer). A panel will also be held featuring Menna Hamdy, Basma Hosam, Yara Hesham, and Farahzada while being moderated by fellow female artist Gehan Mounir.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

How leaders can mitigate employees’ feelings of isolation and instead spur their productivity: The shift to WFH during the pandemic led many employees to feel lonely and isolated from their colleagues — but even teams who do see each every day have also reported feeling lonely. Ryan Jenkins and Steven Van Cohen, who penned Connectable, have spent a decade helping companies reduce employee isolation, which leads to real and growing mental health problems for the workers as well as the organization. They provide tips such as building psychological safety within a team, creating environments of belonging and inclusion, and cultivating meaningful connections across team members while also outlining their four-step Less Loneliness Framework. The book provides the perfect balance of science, statistics, stories, and strategies to teach business leaders how to create a healthier and more productive workspace.