Jack Waterlot Eyes Five Influential Screen Sirens About Ramadan Dramas for Vogue Arabia May 2018

Arab talents Saba Mubarak, Haya Abdulsalam, Salma Abu Deif, Shereen Reda and Amel Bouchoucha are styled by Katie Trotter in pure white femininity with little to no jewelry. Jack Waterlot captures the quintet in a feature on Ramadan's "sparkling new season of TV drama"  featured in Vogue Arabia May 2018.

The article is an easy, breezy read but also informative as the five talents come together in the village of Dahshur, Egypt, with an "ultimate backdrop" of pharaonic monuments. 

Jordanian Actor and Producer Saba Mubarak

Saba Mubarak photographed by Jack Waterlot for Vogue Arabia, May 2018

Saba Mubarak

The Jordanian actor and producer Saba Mubarak says that Ramadan dramas, often consisting of 30 or more episodes are successful in today's Arab world only by beating competition that is "fierce and global." She continues, “Arab viewers have quite a few choices. The world is no longer closed, nor programming locally based. The game must change. As an actor, I don’t confine myself to one locale. I work on projects that are produced in Egypt, Jordan, or outside the Arab world, such as Sweden and Spain. Geography doesn’t impede on my dreams.”

Haya Abdulsalam photographed by Jack Waterlot for Vogue Arabia, May 2018.

Kuwati Actor & Director Haya Abdulsalem

Kuwaiti actor Haya Abdulsalam Abdulsalam is cultivating her passion for directing dramas, presiding now over three series in which she also played the leading roles. Abdulsalam also intends to learn the essentials of filmmaking. “With the opening of cinemas in Saudi Arabia, Gulf actors will flourish. We will have more independence and the box office will determine who the stars are. Producers who impose their conditions on actors will no longer hold all the cards,” she states. “I give the impression that I am a young and shy girl, but I have proven that there is nothing a woman can’t do. I dispelled suspicions and boosted hope. I am also so close to my audience due to my simple look – that of a normal girl who can be their neighbor or daughter. I know I’m a star, but I do not act like one.”

Amel Bouchoucha photographed by Jack Waterlot for Vogue Arabia, May 2018.

Algerian Actor & Singer Amel Bouchoucha

“The doors are open to me and my steps are steady. I do not like to make random choices nor make an unjustified or weak appearance.” Bouchoucha will star in 'Abu Omar Al Masri' with Ahmed Ezz. “For years, I have been offered special roles for Ramadan season in Egypt, but I was waiting for a good drama because success in this country – the Arab platform of drama and cinema – has a different taste and glamour,” she says. “It is a shortcut to success. However, the journey you take to prove your talent isn’t easy. Second or third chances are almost non-existent. Either you succeed, or you will be excluded.”

Shereen Reda photographed by Jack Waterlot for Vogue Arabia, May 2018.

Shereen Peda

In the past, actors were eager to appear on the silver screen, says Egyptian star Shereen Reda, but Ramadan TV dramas are more important now. Her film experience is extensive – after starring in 'Photocopy' with Mahmoud Hemeida (which was awarded best Arab feature narrative at the 2017 El-Gouna film festival), she appeared in 'Toraab Al Maas' (Diamond Dust) and 'Al Daif' (The Guest). She will soon begin shooting her first comedy, 'Al Kuwaiysee'n (The Good People). “Viewers simultaneously understand and create the importance of Ramadan’s drama season by focusing on the details: the quality of acting, direction, production, and subjects,” she says. And yet, the number of series produced now are fewer than before.

Salma Abu Deif by Jack Waterlot for Vogue Arabia May 2018

Salma Abu Deif

The young Egyptian actor Salma Abu Deif is a former model honing her acting skills. Abu Deif’s role in last Ramadan’s 'Halawat Al Dunia' (Life is Beautiful) was her public debut. “Ramadan is a season that ensures high viewing rates,” she says. Next up, audiences will see her playing an unexpected character in Ladayna Aqwal Ukhra. “I play a young, mature, and wise girl who works at the Foreign Ministry and cares about her family. Yousra (an Egyptian actor and singer plays my mother. She gave me advice as would a real mother during the shooting, and this special relationship between us will be obvious in the scenes.”