Mona Zaki to Play Umm Kulthum in New Film

Egyptian actress Mona Zaki will play iconic singer Umm Kulthum in an untitled film.

Marwan Hamed is directing the pic from a script by Ahmed Mourad.

The film comes as a part of the "Big Time" Investment Fund that aims to raise the quality of Arabic content and filmmaking.

The fund is sponsored by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture. It invests in the most important Saudi, Gulf, and Arab films by the biggest stars of the Arab world.

Born on December 31, 1898, Umm Kulthum has no equivalent among singers in the world and represented the soul of the pan-Arab world for decades.

Her potent contralto, which could blur gender in its lower register, conveyed breathtaking emotional range in complex songs that, across theme and wildly-ornamented variations, could easily last an hour.

Her death on February 3, 1975, brought millions into the Cairo streets to mourn, and while her influence among Arab singers is incalculable, it extended far beyond it.