News: Egypt drops ban on ‘adults only’ film

An Egyptian court has revoked a government ban on a film by Lebanese star Haifa Wehbe that had been deemed sexually provocative, judicial sources said on Wednesday. In April, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab suspended screening of “Halawet Rooh” (Beauty of Soul), a movie said to have been inspired by Monica Bellucci’s 2000 hit, “Malena”. That decision came just days after the Egyptian-made movie was released for adult only audiences. Revealing clothes worn by Wehbe and sexually explicit movements and scenes in the film had stirred harsh criticism in Egypt. On Tuesday, a Cairo court accepted an appeal filed by the movie’s producer, Mohammed al-Sobky, asking for the ban to be revoked, a judicial source said. Sobky argued in his appeal that the order to suspend the film had been “random” and that he had incurred about 35 million Egyptian pounds ($ 5 million, 3.9 million euros) loss following the ban. Several film critics lashed out at the movie when it was initially released in April. The plot revolves around Rooh, played by Wehbe, who ignites passions among men in her neighbourhood when her husband is away. A review published by independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm compared it to a “porn” film