There is no doubt that the camera loves her! Injy El Mokkaddem continues to surprise us with staggering performances, proving with every new role that she is a flux of exceptional talent. We chat with the extremely talented Injy El Mokkaddem about her upcoming projects, and female roles in cinema. We got to know her on a more personal level.
Strong and successful leading female roles have been gradually disappearing on the silver screen, resulting in women comprising a very small amount of leading roles in the Egyptian television and cinema industries. “Unfortunately women’s roles have been deteriorating since the 1960s, due to religious extremism suppressing women, and restricting their roles, and participation, in society. This has reflected a lot on the leading female roles in cinema. I believe now that change is gradually finding its way into our society, as we can see with all the changes that happened in Saudi Arabia,” she says.
“Arab cinema has been objectifying women for years. There is a very limited number of movies that have positive representation of women, but the mainstream is definitely objectifying us”
When it comes to portraying women in cinema hotshot writers and producers often represent them as eye-candy or weak, dependent beings. “Arab cinema has been objectifying women for years. There is a very limited number of movies that have positive representation of women, but the mainstream is definitely objectifying us,” she says.
Injy is not only a talented actress, but also an amazing mother of two. “I raise my son on the principle that there is no difference between a boy and a girl; we are all human beings,” she says.
Being the feminist that she is, Injy raises her daughter to be an independent, confident young woman. “I remember my daughter once told me that Disney princesses are so lame, because they wait for the prince to come and save them. and asked, “Why can’t they just stand up for themselves?”” she says.
“I raise my son on the principle that there is no difference between a boy and a girl; we are all human beings”
We can’t wait to see Injy grace our TV screens in Ramadan with her performance in Hany Khalifah’s ‘Layali Ogeneeh’. Injy has put a lot of effort into this show; she started taking Italian classes to fully capture the essence of her character. Layali Ogeneeh is definitely going to be on our list of shows this Ramadan. Apart from watching Injy speak Italian, the show has a great cast lineup with the super talented Amina Khalil and Dhafer L’Abidine. “It is totally different from any other character I have played before. I think the audience will be surprised,” she says.
Up Close & Personal:
Describe yourself in three words?
I am a dreamer, a feminist, spiritual.
What is your favorite movie?
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Love Actually.
What is your favorite local brand?
I have been obsessing over local brands for sometime now. I am very impressed with the amazing brands and designers; they are truly talented. It is hard to choose only one brand. To name a few, I love Sherwal, Sorelle, and Azza Fahmy.
What’s your favorite role that you played?
I really love Deeja in Hekayat Banat.
Which iconic female character would you like to portray?
Shagaret El Dorr; she’s a very intriguing and powerful woman.
What’s a country you would like to visit?
Bali; it’s very spiritual.
What do you think women want?
This is the one-million-dollar question. I think women want everything. I see that women are life with all it’s contradictions. We want love, inspiration, freedom, happiness, tenderness and security.