Interview by Emmanuel Itier

SNOW WHITE screening at the Red Sea International Fim Festival

Interview with director: Taghrid Abouelhassan, Actress: Mariam Sherif and producer: Mohamed Agamy. By Emmanuel Itier

And the Award for Yusr Best Actress goes to: Mariam Sherif!

I was so happy for Mariam and the team of director Taghrid Abouelhassam and producer Mohamed Agamy, for such a WIN! Fantastic that this great actress is recognized for her talent and her humanity in this very touching movie. It’s the first feature exploring the romantic life of “little people” and this is a daring subject for the region. Taghrid  Abouelhassan,  who is a maverick Egyptian director, delivers a fantasy tale as an homage to all the fairy tales she liked as a young child. The city of Cairo has never been painted in such a vivid and frantic way, and you will feel side by side with Mariam on her journey.

During the Red Sea film festival, we were lucky to catch up with Mariam, Taghrid and Mohamed. Seat down and enjoy the inspiring conversation.

Q: How did it begin and how did you put together this beautiful film?

Taghrid: I realized we have many little people in Egypt. And even so it’s rare to see one. Lots of kids who are little people drop out of school after being bullied. They hide at home, and they are not engaged with their community. I wanted to put the light on one of these little people. The light on a beautiful and strong woman. She will take you on a journey with her. I hope that this film will offer a different perspective about little people and that the audience will be more embracing of little people.

Mariam: For me there was no hesitation about being part of this film and its great message of inclusion and tolerance towards little people. I hope the film travels beyond Egypt and that it touches all little people around the world. I want the world to know that little people are normal people and that they should be much more accepted. There are just a few centimeters of difference between us.

Mohamed: I was so moved by reading the script and this untold story about little people. Taghrid was so dedicated with this picture, and it was a pleasure working with her. I was very impressed by the result.

Q: How close is your journey with the one of your character, Mariam?

Mariam: Actually, she is very close to me as I do experience the same when taking the bus or walking in the streets of Cairo. All over the world people stare at us and totally underestimate us.

Q: Beyond the theme of tolerance and acceptance, what are the other themes explored by Snow White?

Taghrid: I wanted to also show the romantic side of the life of little people. She is a woman who dreams of Prince Charming like everyone. Lots of people try to find love online and hide who they really are. It’s really a movie about Love ultimately. And it’s also about finding truly yourself and becoming who you truly want to become. She truly sees herself as Snow White and it’s her right to do so. It’s really a film about people who suffers because they are different and don’t appear like the greatest number of other people.

Mariam: It’s also about the concept of “strong woman”. She is an example of a strong Egyptian woman struggling with life.

Mohamed: I hope people get the message that we need to take care of each other, no matter who we are. We are one human family, and nobody should be bullied or put aside because of their appearance.