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Hend Sabry
Category: Performing
Country: Tunisia
About
Hend Sabry is a Tunisian actress and lawyer. She received her law license at the Faculty of Law of Tunis in 2001 and her Master’s degree in law (intellectual property and copyright) in 2004. At the age of fourteen, Hend starred in her first film, The Silence of the Palace (1994) as one of its main characters, Alia1. The film, which was set mostly in Tunisia in the 1950s during the reign of the country’s last monarchs, tells the tale of a kitchen servant and her daughter. The film, which was described as a “universal coming of age story with a feminist twist” follows Alia as she grows up in the palace during a time when female servants were expected to be sexually available to the men they served.2
Hend’s breakthrough film, Mothakarat Morahiqa, or “A Teenager’s Diaries,” was released in 2001 and made her a star across the Middle East. Some of her earlier films include Mawsim Al-Rijal, meaning “The Season of Men,” and Samt al Soqoor.3
In 2011, when anti-government rallies began in Tunisia, Hend severed her ties with former Tunisian President Ben Ali, who she had been coerced into supporting along with his family. In a Facebook post, Hend warned Ben Ali against ordering his security forces to open fire on protestors. She later admitted that making such a public gesture had been a frightening experience. She feared that she might have been forced to leave the country, or her relatives might have been harmed.4
Hend is currently in the pre-production phase of her new film Asmaa, which is being produced by Mohamed Herzy and written and directed by Amr Salama. Asmaais based on a true story and addresses taboos in Egypt. 5
[2] Movie Review: The Silences of the Palace (2004), The New York Times Review.
[3] Hend Sabry’s Official Website.
