Menna Shalaby To Headline ‘Kondaliny’ Movie

 

Egyptian star Menna Shalaby will star in the upcoming film "Kondaliny," directed by Mohamed Salama and based on Mirna Elhelbawi's novel of the same name.

 

 

 

 

Menna Shalaby is an actress who has managed to combine box office success with critical acclaim for independent works. She began her career in 2001 with the television series “Morning and Evening Talk”, based on a story by Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz. That same year, she took part in late Radwan Al-Kashef’s “The Magician,” making her silver screen debut.

 

She has worked with some of the most serious directors since then, starring in the late Osama Fawzi’s “I Love Cinema” (2004), Hala Khalil’s “The Best of Times” (2004), the late Mohamed Khan’s “Downtown Girls” (2005), and Kamla Abouzekri’s “About Love and Passion” (2006).

 

In 2007, the great director Youssef Chahine selected her for the lead role in his last film, “Chaos”, which competed in the Venice International Film Festival.

Shalaby also starred in Ahmad Abdalla’s “Microphone” (2010), which screened in over 50 festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, and was included in the Dubai International Film Festival’s 100 Most Important Arab Films. 

 

The prominent actress collaborated with Youssry Nasrallah on “After the Battle” (2012), which brought Egyptian cinema back to Cannes after a 15-year hiatus, and “Brooks, Meadows and Lovely Faces” (2016), which world premiered at the Locarno Film Festival before it was released in France and Switzerland.

 

With her award for “Nawara” by Hala Khalil, she set a record of 10 best actress awards. She also worked with director Marwan Hamed on “The Originals” (2017) and “Diamond Dust” (2018). Her last film was “Scarecrow”, costarring Ahmed Helmy and directed by Khaled Marie, in 2010.

 

 

Shalaby was nominated for an International Emmy Award for her role in ‘Every Week Has A Friday’.