Egyptian actress Menna Shalaby won the Best Actress award for her role in feature film Nawara at Morocco’s Tetouan International Mediterranean Film Festival, which closed on Saturday, while Egyptian director Mahmoud Soliman took the Best First Film award in the documentary section for his film Abadan Lam Nakon Atfalan (“We Have Never Been Children”).

The awards add to the slew of prizes won by Shalaby for the same role, among them the Best Actress award at the 12th Dubai International Film Festival, where the film had its Arab world premiere. Nawara was also one of five Egyptian films in competition for the Muhr Awards.

Directed by Hala Khalil, the story takes place on the eve of the 2011 revolution, and centres on Nawara, a woman in her twenties who works as a housemaid at a villa in a luxury compound. During the absence of the landlord, she invites her fiancé over, and together they enjoy a taste of the life of the rich and famous.

Abadan Lam Nakon Atfalan by Mahmoud Soliman has previous won Best Director and Best Muhr Non-Fiction Feature at the Dubai International Film Festival.

The documentary follows an Egyptian mother who is trying to take care of her children as she gets divorced from their father.

Two other Egyptian films also screened at this year’s Tetouan festival: Tok Tok and Leilet Hob (Night of Love).

The 22nd edition of the Tetouan festival ran between 26 March and 2 April. 

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