For a country with no movie theaters, it seems a little unlikely, but Saudi Arabia is in the grips of Lamar-fever, a starlet actress with staying power.
The young Saudi will be starring in Ramadan drama series People Talk, directed by Omar al Deeni and TV show From the End, aired on Dubai TV. She also has a role in The Devil's Game, a series directed by Samir Aref.
Previously, directors have complained about the lack of actresses in the Kingdom as many up-and-coming female stars are worried about taking roles that could be deemed ‘provocative’. For Saudi film buffs, a trip to the movies usually means a hop over the border to neighboring Bahrain.
Mohammed Bazeid, a 28-year-old Saudi short film director said: “I found actresses from almost all Arab nationalities — Lebanese, Jordanian, Syrian and Moroccan — but I could not find any Saudis.
“We don’t have a stable acting environment in the Kingdom,” he added. “We do it out of love, not as part of a whole organized industry.”
Lamar is already receiving praise from the likes of director Abdul Khaliq Al-Ghanem, who worked with her on "From the End". He described her as having a bright future ahead. For now, she is a shining star in an otherwise desert of Saudi actresses.
Any thoughts on the Saudi acting scene for women and still for men? Do you think Lamar could be the pioneer of a whole new sand storm of actresses? How can a Saudi woman surmount the obstacles in society to her career choice?
