From a Dream of Directing to Standing Up to Extremism: Sheref Sabawy Honours Elham Shahin in Canada

 Ontario MPP Sheref Sabawy honoured Egyptian actress Elham Shahin during an artistic and cultural evening held in Mississauga as part of Egyptian Heritage Month celebrations in Canada.

The event was organized by The Canadian Egyptian Heritage Association, chaired by Dr. Magdy Nashat, and attended by members of the Egyptian and wider Arab communities.

Sabawy, who represents Mississauga—Erin Mills in the Ontario legislature, presented Shahin with the recognition in appreciation of her long artistic career and her contribution to Egyptian and Arab cinema.

The evening featured an extensive on-stage conversation moderated by actress Elham Safieddine, who guided Shahin through the major milestones of her career, the roles that shaped her artistic identity, and her views on the responsibility of art in addressing social issues and confronting extremist ideas.

Following the event, Shahin praised Safieddine’s thoughtful questions, describing them as deeply reflective and revealing new aspects of her personality. She also thanked Sabawy for the honour and expressed her appreciation to Dr. Magdy Nashat and the association’s team for organizing the evening.

During the discussion, Shahin revealed that acting was never part of her original career plan. As a child, she took part in school performances involving singing and dancing and once dreamed of becoming a ballerina.

Her passion for the arts later led her to consider directing.

“I always imagined myself as the leader in that space,” she recalled. “I decided to become a director because the director is the person who controls every element of the work.”

Shahin enrolled at Egypt’s Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts intending to study directing. However, she discovered that candidates for the acting and directing departments were assessed together.

Because she had not prepared an acting scene, the examination committee asked her to read a passage in Arabic. She believes that her accurate pronunciation and strong command of the language contributed to the committee’s decision to admit her.

“That was how I became an actress by pure coincidence, and the dream of directing came to an end,” she said.

Shahin’s professional relationship with the stage began when director Kamal Yassin introduced her in the play A Mermaid from Mars in the late 1970s. She later entered cinema with Mothers in Exile in 1981, before gaining broader public recognition through Al-Aar in 1982.

She also reflected on her personality during her student years, describing herself as extremely shy and saying that her face would quickly turn red whenever she spoke in front of others.

Shahin recalled the influence of legendary Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, who once told her that she closely imitated her mannerisms, appearance and rapid speaking style.

The observation encouraged Shahin to develop an independent artistic identity rather than becoming a copy of another performer, even one she deeply admired.

Discussing the roles closest to her heart, Shahin said that the character of Fawzia in the film Khaltet Fawzia reflected the way she viewed herself internally, making it one of the most personally meaningful roles of her career.

By contrast, she described “Um Jihad” in the television series Bطلوع الروح — Betloo’ Al Rouh as one of the characters she most disliked playing, despite believing strongly in the message behind the role.

She explained that portraying evil is particularly difficult when a character is completely opposed to the actor’s real nature. Nevertheless, she regarded the role as an important artistic warning against extremism, violence and the manipulation of religion.

Shahin described herself as stubborn when defending what she believes is right, saying she does not remain silent when confronted with injustice.

She also addressed her well-known legal dispute with television presenter Abdullah Badr and the religious television channel Al-Hafez, explaining that she insisted on pursuing the case through the courts despite threats and warnings from people around her.

Shahin said a large protest was organized outside her home and that security authorities advised her to leave temporarily out of concern for the safety of other residents.

She added that her family and neighbours stood beside her throughout the crisis and that she refused to abandon legal action against those she accused of using religious rhetoric to insult artists and incite hostility against them.

Published court records show that Badr was convicted of insulting and defaming Shahin and was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 20,000 Egyptian pounds.

A separate ruling suspended Al-Hafez television for 30 days and prevented the program’s presenters from appearing during that period. The channel’s permanent closure was later ordered in a different case filed by Egyptian actor Hany Ramzy.

Shahin also discussed Badr’s presentation of himself as a professor of Quranic interpretation at Al-Azhar University. She said she pursued the matter legally and institutionally, after which Al-Azhar confirmed that he was not a member of its academic staff.

Reflecting on the current state of cinema, Shahin criticized what she described as a tendency among some younger filmmakers to reproduce foreign films and imitate their ideas without engaging sufficiently with the realities of Egyptian and Arab society.

She argued that cinema should remain connected to the social concerns of its own community and should not limit itself to copying experiences that do not reflect its cultural environment.

The evening concluded with Shahin emphasizing that art is not merely a form of entertainment. In her view, it carries a responsibility to raise awareness, confront extremism and open serious conversations about social issues.

She also praised The Canadian Egyptian Heritage Association for its role in preserving Egyptian identity and connecting younger generations in Canada with their cultural heritage.