‘Finding Ola’ star Yasmina El-Abd on female empowerment

Rising Egyptian star Yasmina El-Abd, whose acting career has been on a roll since she was 12, is a testament to the fact that female empowerment is becoming a major theme in the Arab world’s film and TV production.

Born in Switzerland to an Egyptian family, El-Abd studied drama in London and got her first acting job in the well-received short film “The Shadow of Cairo,” in which she plays a 12-year-old Maya who seeks revenge for the death of her mother. by becoming a kind of superhero who chases down sexual harassers in Cairo.

A slew of roles followed, including in the Arab patriarchal drama series “Daughters of Abdul-Rahman”; as well as in the HBO Max children’s series “Theodosia,” in which El-Abd is the only Egyptian cast member and plays one of the leads, Princess Safiya; the groundbreaking Arabic-language musical film “Sukkar,” and of course the hit Netflix series “Finding Ola” – the second season of which has just been released – in which she plays Zeina, a surrogate daughter of the show’s happily divorced protagonist.

Yasmina El-Abd – who recently turned 18 and acts and sings in English, French and Arabic – spoke to Variety about her career development and why, in addition to being an actor and singer, she is now ready to become an executive producer.

When did you start realizing the importance of female empowerment in the stories you portray on screen?

Soon. Right after ‘Shadow of Cairo’, which was important in terms of spreading awareness about sexual harassment in the Middle East, I sent a self-recording to [director] Zaid Abu Hamdan, we finally succeeded. In “Daughters of Abdul-Rahman” I played Abdul Rahman’s daughter. My character arc in this film was all about early marriage and child marriage; Being forced as a young girl into a marriage with a man about 30 years older than her. So it started to become clear that I would try to break taboos in whatever job I worked.

How important has it been to play a leading role in the Egyptology-themed series Theodosia?

I was lucky to represent Egypt. And I also just fell in love with the script, because yes, it is for a younger audience, but it is also attractive to any target group and well written with the right facts, since the writers have worked with Egyptologists. We were also able to bring our characters to life in our own way. And as the only Egyptian among the four protagonists, I could say, “Oh, maybe this should be different.” So I made sure all the names were pronounced correctly in Arabic. Because these things make a difference, and this is how you progress towards a more inclusive industry.

What was it like for you to work with Hend Sabri on ‘Finding Ola’?

“Finding Ola” was my first TV series in the Middle East. And I’m very lucky that this was my first experience because Hend is incredible. I could talk about her all day, but she is simply a class act to say the least. And the great thing about Zeina in this second season is that she’s a little more mature than she was in season one. At this age you grow a little more mature every five minutes, and then you go back to being naively immature, but it always fluctuates. So Zeina is still a typical Gen Z influencer, but this time she is a little more famous, namely for playing.

How important is it to you that Sabri, in addition to being the lead actor in ‘Finding Ola’, is also an executive producer of the show?

I have always believed that as women we should not be limited in the industry, we can do the exact same things [as men] and we can run a show; we can lead a project; we can direct a film and do it in a way that is most authentic to us. So it’s amazing to see that happen. She’s also paving the way for young actors like me so we don’t have to do that too far into our careers. We can do it young. For us this is a huge blessing, especially in the Middle East. We see this a lot in the West, where so many young girls are now producing and starring in executive projects. And we should be able to do that here too, also globally. Because we can; because we can. It’s not just because, oh, we want it. It’s because we really can, and we have things to say that really matter.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.