Egyptian star Yousra talks to Marianne Khoury

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The Film Verdict

VERDICT: Two of El Gouna Film Festival's leading ladies discussed Yousra's film career in a special masterclass.

Egypt’s legendary actress and one of the biggest stars in Arab cinema, Yousra has been a fervent supporter of the El Gouna Film Festival since its inception and is one of ten international luminaries (Forest Whitaker is another) who form the International Advisory Board. She is also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. On Sunday she gave a masterclass in the Festival Plaza’s outdoors amphitheater where she was interviewed by the festival’s new artistic director, Marianne Khoury.

Yousra recalled the informality with which, as a young girl, she was selected to act in An Egyptian Story by the late, great director Youssef Chahine. He came to her home early one morning to give her the news and proceeded to select costumes for her character, Amal, from her closet. Marianne Khoury and her brother Gabriel were the producers of two subsequent Yousra-Chahine collaborations, Alexandria: Again and Forever and The Emigrant.

Yousra, who is the Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS for the MENA region, is an influential voice in the Middle East and North Africa.  She underlined the El Gouna festival’s dedication to the Palestinian people — the theme of this year’s Special Edition — and the stance it has taken against the ongoing war in Gaza. In her remarks on the festival’s opening night, she referred to the Palestinians as “a noble and glorious people who taught the whole world the supreme meaning of humanity, the great and resilient Palestine.”

The masterclass took place in the context of El Gouna’s industry section CineGouna Bridge.