In the latest episode of Inside the Middle East, CNN meets the women at the forefront of the film scene in Egypt. With a passion for storytelling and a drive for social change, they are moving the industry forward.
Mariam Abou Ouf has forged her way to become one of Egypt’s acclaimed film directors. With more than 20 years in the industry, she strongly believes women’s perspectives are needed more on the silver screen. Mariam tells CNN about the importance of collaboration with other women to bring different perspectives to TV and film: "I think in general, women and filmmakers, they have to work more to prove themselves. So in the end, what you get is better filmmakers, better writers, better actors, simply because we need to work much harder to get to where our male colleagues are."
Documentary filmmaker Marianne Khoury also speaks about the impact of women working together: "I think it’s extremely important to collaborate, it gets much better results because you have all these energies coming together to produce something together this is much stronger than just one person working alone."
Women have played a pivotal role in the Egyptian film industry for some time but in the 1920s when the industry was new there was stigma attached to the career. Khoury says: "For the society in general, being in artistic fields, that was taboo. During the early days where very rich men were in love with the, you know, dancers or artists. And they would never say in public that they married them." She says: "Women were the pioneers… the real pioneers in Egyptian cinema."
With nearly 50 years in show business and still a household favorite, Yousra is an Egyptian icon for television and film. She credits her success to the legendary women who came before her and says she hopes to pay it forward to emerging talent: "As much as they, the old legends and stars have helped me in my life, I owe it to the new generations. 80% of the new generation that worked with me, I played even a tiny role in their lives which is important."
CNN also meets filmmaker Mayye Zayed who is using film to create social change. Zayed produced ‘Lift Like a Girl,’ which features Asmaa ‘Zebiba’ Abbary, a young Egyptian girl, aspiring to become a professional weightlifter. The film has won several awards and was the first Egyptian documentary released on Netflix. Following its release Mayye started an impact campaign for children that reflects the issues and topics highlighted in the documentary. She says: "We do not just screen the film and just leave. We organize these workshops to inspire them to pursue their own dreams, but at the same time to raise awareness about gender equity, to discuss problems like gender bias, basically to tackle all the themes that we see in the film."
Zayed hopes the film will inspire children, change their perception around social issue and shift cultural language. She says: "We have sometimes these phrases that are so embedded in the culture, for example, if you want to say that a woman is good, you tell her, um, that she’s like a man. So we have designed some activities to explore these themes with kids and to have them think of other phrases they can use, or adults can use."
She continues: "I wanted to tell this story in a way that it can inspire… especially children to pursue their own dreams, but at the same time to break stereotypes about women, especially in Egypt."
