Egyptian acting star Mona Zaki did not hold back when she was asked about the new generation of actors in the Arab film industry being consumed by social media and brand deals.
“It’s all fake, from beginning to end,” declared Zaki during a conversation event at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival.
“If the new generation relies purely on social media and brand deals for fame, they’re not going to learn anything. Even if they work with big important brands, they’ll be underpaid because they’re just being given a superficial image,” she continued. “They won’t be able to grow in their career as authentic actors.”
“I don’t really deal with social media, I don’t know how to. I think when people become too obsessed with it, they get stuck in a shallow mindset that doesn’t allow for much personal growth.”
Zaki, whose recent credits include the Netflix hit Perfect Strangers and Hany Khalifa’s female empowerment drama Flight 404, which is Egypt’s Oscar entry this year, was feted with an honorary career award on the festival’s opening night, presented by Minnie Driver.
The star discussed her work with Khalifa, which includes his groundbreaking 2003 debut feature, the relationships comedy-drama Sleepless Nights, as well as other prominent Egyptian directors such as Sherif Arafa (Mafia) and Mohamed Khan (The Days Of Sadat).
She got emotional on recalling her collaborations with iconic star Ahmed Zaki (no relation), who died at the age of 55 from cancer in 2005. Zaki co-starred with the late actor in Smile, The Photo Comes Out Better (1998), The Days Of Sadat (2001) and Halim (2006).
A number of Egyptian household names attended the talk, including Lebleba, Nadia Al Gendy, Sherine Reda and Mohamed Farag, with some giving speeches celebrating Zaki’s decades-long career, and congratulating her on the Red Sea honorary award.
Zaki will next be seen in Marwan Hamed’s El Set (The Lady), a biopic about the iconic Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum but with the film under wraps, she would not discuss the role in her conversation.
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