Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek will be honored at the 11th edition of the Alexandria International Short Film Festival (ASFF), slated to run from April 27 - May 2.
The actor will be the recipient of the Hypatia Golden Award for Creativity in recognition of his distinguished career in cinema and drama, both locally and internationally.
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Born on September 29, 1995, Malek got his first audition at the age of eight when his uncle took him to perform in a commercial.
In 2005, he landed his first role in the TV series "Ayamna el helwa" (Our Good Days). A few years later, he played a small role in "Mafish Fayda", starring Moustafa Amar and Basma.
Shortly after, Malek was tapped to portray the role of young Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the TV series “El-Gamaah" (2010) (The Brotherhood), which is considered the then-15-year-old's first breakthrough role.
After the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Malek disappeared for a short time to focus on political and revolutionary activism.
However, when director Gamal Abdel Hameed offered him the role of a young Egyptian revolutionary activist in the TV series "Al-shaware'a al-khafiya" (The Backstreets) - starring famous actors Jamal Soliman, Layla Elwy, Samy El-Adl and Gihan Fadel - he could not resist.
In 2012, director Mohamed Sami offered Malek the role of Ahmed, a stammered teenage addict in his series "Ma'a Sabq Alesrar", who nominated him the following year to play the role of a troubled teen in his TV series "Hekayet Hayah".
Following Malek's impressive performance, renowned Egyptian director Sharif Arafah asked him to audition for a pivotal role in the sequel of "El-Gezirah" (2007).
In 2014, he returned for the sequel, which propelled him towards regional stardom in the Middle East after which he became one of the most successful and sought-after Egyptian actors of his generation.
Malek would later find international fame with roles in critically acclaimed films such as "Clash" (2016), "Sheikh Jackson" (2017), and "Leil Khargi" (2018) - all of which have been selected to represent Egypt in international film festivals and award circuits.