Ahmed Magdy

Born in Cairo, Egypt, Ahmed Magdy is a multi-talented filmmaker, actor and a UNFPA Champion. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Ain Shams University, then joined Al-Tamy Theater Troupe and worked as an actor and assistant director for three years. His debut film is the independent short documentary Magra Al Seil (Riverbed) (2007). Afterwards, Magdy took part in a workshop titled Al Zat Wa Al Madina - Al Qahira (The Self and the City- Cairo), through which he directed his second documentary film, Zizo (2007). Following that, he enrolled at the School of Cinema, where he graduated after directing the film Keika Bel Crema (Cream Cake) (2008) that received the Jury Award at each of the Algerian Independent Film Festival and the Jordan Independent Short Film Festival, in addition to the Silver Hawk award at the Arab Film Festival in Rotterdam. In cooperation with the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) of the American University in Cairo (AUC), Magdy directed the documentary film Ila Al-Bahr (To the Sea). The film participated in the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in 2009, the festival, which he returned to in 2012 as a member of the Short Films Competition Jury. In 2013, Magdy received the SANAD Development Grant from the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, and the AFAC Production Grant in 2014 for his debut narrative feature, The Giraffe (2018). In November 2018, The Giraffe landed its world premiere at the 40th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF). Written, directed and filmed by Magdy, The Giraffe received wide critical acclaim during its international premiere at the Marrakech International Film Festival, where Lebanese film critic Mohammed Rouda stated that The Giraffe is the best Arab film of the year. The film screened at many regional and international film festivals, including the Festival International du Film Transsaharien de Zagora in Morocco, Aswan International Women Film Festival, Cairo Cinema Days, Festival Cinémas du Sud in Lyon, France, Masr Dot Bokra Film Festival, Aarhus Arab Film Festival in Denmark, Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh, and the Palestine Cinema Days. The Giraffe was theatrically released in Egypt and the UAE. As an actor, Magdy took part in many highly-acclaimed films, such as Asafeer Al Neel (Birds of the Nile), Microphone, The Gate of Departure, Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim, which won him the Best Actor Award at the Trophées Francophones du Cinéma in Sénégal, EXT. Night, Seif Tagreeby (Experimental Summer), Nawara, and Mawlana. He also worked on a number of successful TV series, including Al Ahd: Al Kalam Al Mubah, El Beyout Asrar, La Tottfe' Al Shams, Le A'la Se'r, Wahet El Ghoroub, and Family Size. aired on MBC4, Magdy stars in the rom-com TV series El Anesa Farah, which is adapted from the American TV show Jane the Virgin. Receiving wide audience acclaim for his performance, he plays Shady, who faces relationship problems with Farah, played by Asmaa Aboul Yazeed. Magdy was part of the second season of El Anesa Farah 2, which is available on Shahid.net. Magdy is fundamentally a an environmentalist and as part of his ongoing efforts to raise awareness on protecting the environment, Magdy took part in a campaign that calls for limiting the use of plastic products using #KefayaPlastic (#EnoughPlastic) on his Instagram page. The campaign became a huge success after Magdy appeared in a video to support its cause. Being a women's rights activist, he participated in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence event, organized by the British Council, European Union and Cairo University, in November 2019. During his speech, Magdy talked about the character of the abusive husband he played in Naseeby W Esmetak TV series (Gadwal El Darb story) and the importance of ending violence against women. Additionally, Magdy participated in an online panel discussion at the Arab Film Festival in Toronto titled "Demystifying Feature Filmmaking for Emerging Arab Filmmakers." Magdy was featured in the TV drama series, Forsa Tanya (A Second Chance), which aired in Ramadan 2020. Produced by Synergy/Tamer Morsi, Magdy stars opposite Egyptian star Yasmine Sabry. The TV drama was a huge success and received wide acclaim among audiences and critics alike. He was also announced a jury member at the RFF-Revart Film Festival. Hailed as Egypt's first online vertical festival, RFF aims to introduce a modern dimension of creativity to filmmakers during the COVID-19 crisis. Through playing different and notable roles in the past few years, Magdy has managed to secure his place in the industry. He recently finished shooting his scenes for his new film Talaat Harb 2, which he stars in and produces, marking his second production work. Talaat Harb 2 is directed by veteran director and producer Magdy Ahmed Aly. Furthermore, Magdy participated in the film, Hazr Tagawol (Curfew), which is written and directed by Amir Ramses. Landing its world premiere at the Cairo International Film Festival, the film, (Curfew) stars Elham Chahine, Amina Khalil, Mahmoud Ellithy, and Arfa Abdel Rasoul. Ahmed Magdy was chosen by the "Gossips" Digital Platform to be featured on the front cover of its first issue for the New Year 2022. In 2021, Magdy participated in several drama hits including: Qasr El Nil, Bent El Sultan, both premiered in Ramadan 2021, El Anesa Farah 3, El Anesa Farah 4 (Final Season) that is now airing on Shahid.net. Additionally, he was also featured in Ghaween Aflam, the latest commercial for Orange Egypt, the official sponsor for the El Gouna Film Festival 2021. Magdy is shooting the TV series (Waad Ebles) starring Amr Yousef. As for the screenwriting and directing, Ahmed Magdy is working on his second feature film, The Crow, which he will direct as well. He stated that completing this project will take several years.