Art & Culture

Cancel the Dinner Reservation: Kalam Aflam’s ‘Habaytak’ Is Cairo’s Coolest Valentine’s Plan

BYYassine Hariss

February 10, 2026

Building on the success of its debut edition in Paris, cinema-centered cultural platform Kalam Aflam is brining it’s Habytek event back for another round, this time in the organization’s place of birth, Cairo.

Scheduled to be held on Feb. 12 in collaboration with music collective Daybreak, Egyptian publication CairoScene, and local creative studio Samak Laban, the forthcoming event is on a mission to celebrate “the region’s deep and unapologetic relationship with love” and for members of the audience “to explore the beauty, pain, and complexity of Arab love through cinema, music, and shared experience,” per the press release.

“With Habaytak, we wanted to both celebrate and lean into the clichés and extravagance around love in the region, while also going deeper into what it really means to love and be loved here — the beauty, the pain, the intricacies, and the things we often hide. The idea is to create a space where people can reflect on their own relationship to romance, connect with one another, and still lean into the softness and excitement of it all,” Kalam Aflam founder Hayat Aljowaily told MILLE.

“We wanted to step away from the hyper-consumerist way Valentine’s Day is often celebrated, and instead offer an alternative — an evening where people can still let go and enjoy the romance, but also learn, reflect, connect, and engage with love in a more meaningful way,” she added.

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To carry it from idea to execution, the evening will present a curated lineup of short films from across the Arab World, a post-screening Q&A with some of the involved filmmakers, a matchmaking game, as well as DJ sets, food and drinks brought to you by Kalam Aflam’s partners. In total, seven shorts from different regional countries will be screened across a two-hour session inside one of Cairo’s oldest theaters, Zawya.

“At the core of Habaytak, as with all our events, is our commitment to uplifting young and emerging artists from the region. Every film, music set, and brand involved explores a different facet of حب, while also representing voices that are actively reshaping the cultural landscape today with fresh perspectives,” Aljowaily added.

Following the screenings, the night will transition into its social mode, inviting the crowd to carry the conversation forward through music and games; both held at a secret location to be revealed closer to the date.

The screening’s program reads as follows:

I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face — Sameh Alaa
Kisses from Cairo, Greetings from Baghdad — Paula Edward
Alone With You — Tara Shehata
Diva — Lyna Zerrouki
Sahbety — Kawthar Younis
Lak Ala Toul — Aya Arhyay
Des Papillons dans le Ventre — Miriam Lazrak

Cancel the Dinner Reservation: Kalam Aflam’s ‘Habaytak’ Is Cairo’s Coolest Valentine’s Plan

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Cancel the Dinner Reservation: Kalam Aflam’s ‘Habaytak’ Is Cairo’s Coolest Valentine’s Plan

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