Menha al-Batraoui wins the best actress award from DIFF

CAIRO – 18 December 2017: Egyptian actress Menha al-Batraoui won the Muhr Feature award for best actress during the 14th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) for her role in the Egyptian movie "Zahret al-Sabar" (Cactus Flower).

"Zahret al-Sabar" was the only film representing Egypt in the Muhr Feature competition at the 14th DIFF ceremony.

"Zahret al-Sabar" revolves around an Egyptian actress named Aida who has provincial roots and is struggling to make her way to the top. Aida suddenly finds herself kicked out of her house, along with her old reclusive bourgeois neighbor, Samiha.

With no money and nowhere to go, the two women meet a young man, Yassin, while roaming the streets of Cairo. The three of them attempt to find shelter for the night. Their journey is full of tough moments and challenges just like the thorns of a cactus, yet becomes a journey of self-discovery to all three of them.
An extraordinary unplanned friendship grows between Aida, Samiha and Yassin like a dazzling flower blooming from a thorny cactus.

The movie, directed by Hala al-Khoussy, stars Menha al-Batraoui, Salma Samy and Marwan al-Azab.