{"id":5181,"date":"2018-07-01T14:37:08","date_gmt":"2018-07-01T12:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/?p=5181"},"modified":"2019-07-30T17:37:38","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T15:37:38","slug":"amina-maghrabi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/?p=5181","title":{"rendered":"Amina Maghrabi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rising Up in Egyptian Drama<\/strong><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long since the Moroccan entrepreneur decided to give acting a try that her talents went multi-national. Amina Maghrabi has recently starred in Egyptian drama series for first time last Ramadan, boasting natural performances which didn\u2019t go unnoticed in \u2018Amr Wakea\u2019 (Matter of Fact) and \u2018Nesr Al Saed\u2019 (Eagle of Upper Egypt). With her natural Egyptian accent, alongside her compelling method acting skills, we predict it won\u2019t be long until we see her in future leading roles with equal or better dramatic strength. Maghrabi talks to (in)sight\u2019s Mayar El-Shamy about how it all started, and her experience with starring in Egyptian productions. <\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019re rising to stardom as an actress and media icon. How did it all start? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It started back when I was in university in London. I was asked to audition for the role of a young American journalist who lives in Palestine. The role discussed problems related to transnational marriage, especially at an early age. This project was never aired, and it left me wondering about the feedback I would have received from the public. I enjoyed the experience so much, and shortly after, I decided to enrol in London Academy for film and TV, where I took several acting and TV presenting courses and workshops.<\/p>\n

In the past, you\u2019ve starred in the TV series \u2018Karima,\u2019 a\u00a0 performance which stirred controversial opinions. Can you tell us more about that experience?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Technically, \u2018Karima\u2019 was my first appearance on TV. I played the role of a young Moroccan who loses her father in an accident and starts her pursuit of revenge against those who were the reason behind her father\u2019s death\u2026I am not sure if the reaction I got could be considered controversial; in fact, the feedback was very positive! I believe the mix of Emirati-Moroccan accents for the first time, as well as the collaboration of actors from these two countries, have made it very interesting for the audience to watch.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This Ramadan we have seen you in Egyptian drama for the first time. You appeared in \u2018Eagle of Upper Egypt\u2019 playing a bedouin; and also in \u2018Matter of Fact\u2019 playing the role of a modern young professional. How did you manage to play these two totally different roles simultaneously? And how was your first Egyptian drama in general?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In \u2018Eagle of Upper Egypt\u2019, which is an El Adl Group multimedia production, I played the role of Saba, a university girl from Sinai who falls in love and marries an army officer. \u2018Matter of Fact\u2019 is an Aroma Studios production; I played the role of Jessy, an Egyptian-Lebanese professional who gets involved in a fraudulent act. The roles were different and were filmed concurrently, that is true, but I believe as long as the motives of each character are identified the rest usually comes naturally. In general, I have only one word to describe my first experience in the Egyptian drama — awesome! Both production houses and their teams were extremely professional, collaborative and most importantly very supportive. So a big thank you to both El Adl Group and Aroma Studios!<\/p>\n

Which role of these two appealed more to you?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I think I related more to Saba, and her story touched me more. The character\u2019s emotional development and emotional change are intense. She meets the love of her life, fights to marry him, then shortly after her marriage loses her husband, Mansour, the Martyr. So with Saba, I could experience love, determination, sadness, and acceptance; and it all happens very quickly.<\/p>\n

You hosted the opening ceremony of Dubai International Film Festival\u2019s 14th edition. Could you tell us a little bit more about your experience hosting it?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

DIFF is and has always been one of the most successful festivals in the region over the last 14 years; it has created a true legacy of an annual meeting that brings together film lovers from all around the world to celebrate cinema in Dubai every December. As per my experience hosting the opening ceremony, I was honestly thrilled because my participation allowed me to play a small role in honouring three of the world\u2019s most acclaimed actors: Cate Blanchett, Irrfan Khan, and Patrick Stewart; and of course the Egyptian legend and famous screenwriter, Wahid Hamed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We noticed that you have recently changed your name across all your social media platforms to Amina instead of Nina. What happened?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I have not changed my name; Amina is my first name and Nina is my nickname, that\u2019s all! Recently, I have added my official name to all my social media accounts to clarify this point, but apparently this has led to more confusion instead.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re known for your consistent participation in charities and CSR.. How do you aim to use your status to ameliorate the community? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Using status to ameliorate the community is a big claim! Regardless of my career -and just like so many people- I have always enjoyed taking part of various corporate social responsibility programs and charity events, most notably women and youth empowerment. My participation in the past took several forms and included moderating sessions, hosting events, as well as volunteer work, and I am planning to continue doing so whenever there is a chance.<\/p>\n

You are a computer engineer, a marketer, an entrepreneur, and you hold an MBA degree. How hard was it to leave all this behind and focus on acting?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nothing is ever left behind. As I said earlier, I started acting by coincidence while in University and I loved it, but I have never had the courage to jeopardize academia for passion. So if anything, now that I look back, I left acting behind to focus on other aspects of my life\u2026Furthermore, all what actors do through their films or series -whether it\u2019s drama or comedy- is share life experiences with the audience, which means any life experience is always a plus!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In your journey so far, is there anything you regret doing (or not doing) that you would change if you had the chance?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If I could go back in time, I would take the exact same journey and the exact same path. While I know it\u2019s perfectly okay to have regrets in life, I tend to take so much time before making any decisions because I simply hate regrets in general.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for Amina? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Everything! I haven\u2019t started yet\u2026<\/p>\n

A word for your fans\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am nothing without you all. Thank you for your unconditional love and support!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It wasn\u2019t long since the Moroccan entrepreneur decided to give acting a try that her talents went multi-national. Amina Maghrabi has recently starred in Egyptian drama series for first time last Ramadan, boasting natural performances which didn\u2019t go unnoticed in \u2018Amr Wakea\u2019 (Matter of Fact) and \u2018Nesr Al Saed\u2019 (Eagle of Upper Egypt). With her natural Egyptian accent, alongside her compelling method acting skills, we predict it won\u2019t be long until we see her in future leading roles with equal or better dramatic strength. Maghrabi talks to (in)sight\u2019s Mayar El-Shamy about how it all started, and her experience with starring in Egyptian productions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[85,94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity","category-cover-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5181"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5181"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5186,"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5181\/revisions\/5186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insight-egypt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}