Sabrien Prepares for New Movie

Veteran Egyptian actress, Sabrien is preparing to star in a new movie with prominent film director Sherif Arafa.

She shared some details about her upcoming movie in a Zoom interview with "Cairo Now" program presented by TV presenter Lamis Elhadidy broadcast on the "Al Arabiya Al Hadath" channel.

"He is among the directors who I wished to collaborate with. The movie starring Menna Shalaby and artist Mohamed Henedy," she said.

Sabrien pointed out that she will not use her real hair in the movie because it addresses a specific era that requires the use of a "wig".

The 52-year-old actress is currently participating in Ramadan with TV series “Layalina 80”.

The series also stars Eyad Nassar, Ghada Adel, Khaled El Sawy, Mohamed Adel, Noha Abdin, Mohamed Al Shakankeery, Mohamed Ali Rezk, Menna Arafa, Gehan Anwar, Rana Raeis, Nourhan, and others.

The series is written by Ahmed Abdel Fattah, directed by Ahmed Saleh, and produced by Synergy production company.

Sabrien participated last Ramadan with TV series “Fekra b million geneh”.

[caption id="attachment_127610" align="aligncenter" width="705"] TV series “Layalina 80” poster[/caption]

It is worth mentioning that Sabrien was born on October 4, 1967, into the household of Akef which excelled at circus stunts.

She is the niece of actress Naeema Akef. Sabreen took part in acrobatics and dancing performances at a young age.

Thereafter, she acquired a degree in philosophy. Sabreen married a businessman and bore him a son.

She co-starred in several television series such as “Halla wa Derwish”, “Layaly El Helmeya”, “Rihlat Abou al-‘Ella al-Bushry” (The Journey of Abou al-‘Ella al-Bushry),“Leilat al-qabd ‘ala Fatma” (The Night of Fatma’s Arrest),“al-Donnia Warda Baydaa”,“Dameer Abla Hekmat” (The Conscience of Mrs. Hekmat),“Omm Kalthoum”, and “Al-liqaa al-Thanee” (The Second Rendezvous), and “‘Ahalina”.

She became known for her latest roles such as TV series “Aljamaea” (Season 2), TV series “Afrah Eblis” (season 2), TV series “ِAfrah El-Qobba”, TV series “El Shak”, TV series “Wadi Al-Molouk”, and TV series “Hamam Shaykh al-Arab”.

Sabrienalso co-starred in several stage performances such as “Hammra Gamrra”, and “Atfal al-Shaware’” (Street Children).

The actress is also known for her roles in movie “Gharam al’afaei”.

Sabrien 2019 Turban controversy

The star has made headlines in 2019 when she shared photos of herself on Instagram without her veil (hijab) for the first time in years.

Sabrien appeared on November 18, 2019, in the photo with blond hair and without the veil or the wig she used to wear in her artistic work over recent years, which caused a state of controversy among her fans.

[caption id="attachment_91654" align="aligncenter" width="460"] Sabrien with Turban[/caption]

She defended her decision in a phone interview with TV Presenter Amr Adib, aired on MBC Misr TV Channel.

“I was not wearing the hijab but I was being modest,” Sabrien explained, “What I took off was the “turban” and not the hijab, there is a difference,”

She continued: “What my children do to get insulted by people on social media; war was waged against me,”

“Nobody will judge me except who has created me, I swear to God that I did not color my hair, it is like it was before I took off the turban,” Sabrien added.

She concluded: “Throughout the past period that I was very tired psychologically as I played my roles, leave me to reconcile with myself; I took off the turban for myself, and not because of the work.”

[caption id="attachment_123961" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Hala Shiha[/caption]

Sabrien's decision comes a year from another Egyptian actress, Hala Shiha had left the veil behind and resumed her acting career, after 12 years of retirement.

In 2006, Shiha announced her retirement from acting and wearing the veil after co-starring in several blockbuster films such as “Lembi”, “Oredo Kholaan”, “Aaris Men Geha Amnya”, and others.

During her retirement,  she partook in Charity work and preaching in Islam (Dawah) before wearing niqab.

Mohamed Emad, a dentist posted on his “Facebook” page a picture in his clinic accompanied by Hana، and Hala Shiha, in her latest public appearance, on July 12, 2018.

Hala went viral across the social media after appearing in the picture without her niqab “face-covering clothing”، wearing only the veil.

The picture stirred controversy, especially among her fans who were surprised by the move, which comes after her recent confirmation that she will not take off her niqab, which she was wearing for nearly five years.

Social media users shared the picture while expressing their wishes for her to return to acting.

She decided to take off her veil and resume her acting career after an absence of almost 12 years, after thinking for a long time.