Sudanese Actress Islam Mubarak Receives Award at Hollywood Arab Film Festival
Sudanese actress Islam Mubarak received the Special Jury Prize for her outstanding performance in the Egyptian film Seret Ahl El Daye (The Tale of Daye’s Family) by Egyptian director Karim El Shenawyn at the Hollywood Arab Film Festival (HAFF) 2025, which took place from 9 to 13 April 2015 at Look Cinema Glendale in Los Angeles (LA), California.
The film garnered four awards at HAFF 2025, including Best Director, Best Screenwriting and the highest honour of HAFF, the Golden Horizon Award.
Seret Ahl El Daye follows Daye, an 14-year-old Nubian albino with a golden voice, who faces adversity due to his unique appearance. Abandoned by his father and bullied by peers, he dreams of following his idol, Mohammed Mounir. When he gets a chance to audition for The Voice, Daye and his family embark on a perilous journey from Aswan to Cairo. Their journey is fraught with challenges: a stolen car, lost money, and a harrowing escape from the police. They face discrimination and struggle to survive, but their unwavering determination and Daye’s powerful voice keep them going. With the help of a kind fireman and a chance encounter with Mounir himself, Daye overcomes obstacles and captures the hearts of a nation. Daye is a heartwarming tale of resilience, hope, and the transformative power of music. It’s a poignant exploration of tolerance, ambition, and the unbreakable bond of family.
Mubarak portrays Daye’s mother and her performance has been widely acclaimed. Her character is central to the narrative, providing both emotional depth and cultural context. She refers to her son as a ‘ghost,’ highlighting his feelings of invisibility due to his albinism and the societal challenges he faces.
The lead actor, playing Daye, is the first albino Egyptian actor Badr Mohammad. The cast also includes renowned Egyptian singer Mohammed Mounir, popular Saudi Arabian singer and actress Aseel Omran, and Egyptian actress Haneen Saeed.
Seret Ahl El Daye had its world premiere at the fourth Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, as well as at the Berlinale’s prestigious Generation 14plus sidebar. The film was produced by Blueprint Productions, a company co-founded by El Shenawy. He began his career in film and television with his debut film Gunshot, and has since directed several series. El Shenawy received the Best Director Award at HAFF 2025.
In February 2025, MAD Celebrity, the talent management and promotion arm of Cairo-based MAD Solutions, signed Mubarak. She rose to prominence with her breakout lead performance in the award-winning 2019 Sudanese film You Will Die at 20, directed by Amjad Abu Alala, where she also portrayed the mother of the film’s lead character.
The Hollywood Arab Film Festival is nestled in the heart of Hollywood City, with the core mission of providing Arab and North African filmmakers a platform to convene, create, and exhibit their artistic works. The festival aspires to introduce global cinema professionals to the Arab film industry, highlighting its distinctiveness and uniqueness. Additionally, it endeavors to engage in discussions surrounding the challenges facing the industry and strategies for its development. Recognising the wealth of the region’s film industry, HAFF aims to establish a platform through which Western audiences can directly engage with Arab filmmakers to gain insights into their cultural identities and the issues they grapple with.
This year, HAFF launched the inaugural edition of HAFF Industry Days, a platform designed to bridge the gap between film professionals in the Arab world and distribution and production partners in the US. The initiative focuses on two key components: The Project Market and The Industry Talks. The Project Market selects director-producer teams with film projects in the late stages of development, offering them the opportunity to pitch their projects to industry professionals and potential buyers, while also competing for HAFF Project Market prizes. As part of this year’s awards, HAFF granted USD18,000 in post-production services from BigBang Studios to Sudanese directors Mohammed Alomda and Amjad Abu Alala for their upcoming film, Blue Card.
For more information on Islam Mubarak, find her on Facebook Eslam Mobark and Instagram @islammoubarak_
