大象传媒

Your daily journey into global arts, culture and entertainment, with Harriett Gilbert and Mark Coles.

Alaa al Aswany
Alaa al Aswany is one of Arab world's best selling novelists and Egypt's most famous dentist, whose clinic - he says - is his window on to the human soul. He talks about his latest book - a collection called Friendly Fire which includes the novella banned for over a decade.

Vampire Cultural Tour
The Twilight vampire romance books by Stephenie Meyer have been massively successful around the world. The second book, New Moon, is currently being filmed. The novel is partly set in the picturesque medieval city of Volterra in the Tuscan region of Italy, which Stephenie made the home of the most powerful vampire family, the Volturi. However last week, the cast and crew were shooting the Volterra scenes on location in the neighbouring hilltown of Montepulciano instead.

The decision not to shoot in Volterra has been a huge disappointment to the locals .One of the most vocal campaigners was Gemma: a 15 year old schoolgirl and huge fan of the books.
She took Dany Mitzman on a guided tour of her town.

Joan La Barbara
The voice of angels and aliens - the pioneering vocal artist Joan La Barbara demonstrates the poetry of sound with her incredible voice.