Fatima Al-Banawi signing her book “The Other Story” at the Diwan Bookstore in Cairo

elf: In addition to her talents in acting, dramatic writing and directing, Saudi director Fatima Al-Banawi reveals her literary skills to us through the book The Other Story, whose signing ceremony will be held at the Diwan Library in Cairo on Wednesday 21 December , followed by a panel discussion on the book, after witnessing the signing ceremony. The premiere was a great success at the Jeddah International Book Fair last Wednesday, December 14th.
In an intimate setting that can touch the feelings of every reader of different nationalities, Fatima Al-Banawi was able to record in her book the other story, part of the contemporary human history of her city, Jeddah, through realistic stories of the people of the city in its various parts, and these stories also include the memories of the grandfather of Fatima, to highlight the distinct relationship between grandfather and grandson. For this book project, the American magazine Time had chosen Al-Banawi among the leaders of the new generation in 2018.
The book received strong reactions in Jeddah, echoed by the book signing ceremony at the Jeddah International Book Fair, and Fatima wrote about this on her official Instagram account, saying, “Messages, bouquets, roses and secret admirers for you, my story; that’s how stories make you fall in love with her, and you can’t stop.” If it starts! A lot of things are on one side, and the other story is entirely on the other side. ”
Regarding the book, Fatima wrote: “On a journey to collect thousands of stories from the streets of my city, Jeddah, I present to you special and intimate psychological and social notes embodied with the memories and stories of my dearest companions and source of inspiration , my grandfather, God have mercy on him To discover new meanings of time, place and human histories.
Fatima Al-Banawi’s latest work is the thriller “A Long Trail”, which she co-starred with Baraa Alem, produced by MBC Studios and Image Nation, and is currently being screened on the Netflix platform after its world premiere at the Red Sea Festival of its inaugural session in 2021 and after its commercial screening in cinemas of Saudi Arabia.
Al-Banawi recently finished shooting Sawa and Basma, his directorial debut feature film, in which he also participates in acting, after the film received funding from the Red Sea Film Fund, announced as part of the activities of the 78th International Film Festival of Cinematographic Art of Venice. Party. .
It was preceded by her distinguished role, which drew attention to her in the Egyptian thriller and suspense series 60 Minutes, which is one of the original works of the Shahid platform, gaining the highest viewership in Egypt, in which Fatima presented the role of a woman suffering from postpartum depression, whose weakness is manipulated by her psychiatrist. He also participated as a director in the Cairo International Film Festival in its 43rd session with the film Bloogh, which opened the Horizons of Arab Cinema competition, and includes five short films by five Saudi female directors, including Al-Banawi in his short film Until We See the Light .
Interestingly, Fatima Al-Banawi gained international acclaim for her lead role in the film Baraka Meets Baraka, which competed in the Berlin Film Festival, and was a Saudi Arabian representative at the Oscar for Best Language Film foreign.
Among other plays Al-Banawi has acted in; The two social drama series, Human and Umm Al-Qalayed, which have enjoyed success in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and the suspense series, which she also co-authored and directed and broadcast on the Shahid platform, and Paranormal, the first Egyptian series to work within Netflix original works.