Hanan Motawie is hoping for a peaceful January 25 Egyptian actress Hanan Motawie has revealed that she has a "moderate" role in her new film, The Midnight Party. In an exclusive interview with Arabstoday, Motawie explained that the movie is about a revolution in Egypt, and filming was completed before the January 25 revolution. However, the focus is on a hunger revolution as a result of social injustice, differing to the actual events of 2011.
Motawie was a keen participant in revolutionary activities, and confirmed that despite her dissatisfaction with the current situation in Egypt, she does not regret any of the events. She added that the current problems are a result of the revolutionaries’ lack of political experience, along with the cleverness of the other parties. "We should not give up our dream for a better tomorrow," she said.
The Egyptian artist blamed the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) which ran the transition period, for the current situation, saying that both SCAF and the Muslim Brotherhood pushed the country into its current plight.
Motawie confirmed that she voted for Dignity Party's Hamdeen Sabahi in the first round of the presidential elections, and although she boycotted the run-off, she wanted President Morsi to win. However, upon realising that Egyptians had a choice between Ahmed Shafiq or Mohammed Morsi, she decided to move away from the revolution.
The actress expressed hope that the upcoming second anniversary of the January 25 revolution will be peaceful with "a huge number of participants." However, she raised concerns about potential trouble and similar scenes to what we saw two years ago.
Away from politics, Motawie said she admired the cinematic adaptation of Les Misérables, adding that she hopes Egypt can make a movie like that some day.
After the release of her new film, The Midnight Party, Hanan is looking forward to the official release of After the Flood, where she plays the role of an Egyptian researcher studying abroad who returns to Egypt to take part in the revolution.
Motawie is currently shooting the new series of critically acclaimed play Shams al-Aseel, directed by Emad Fouad, in which she plays the role of religious girl.
She said that she wants to get married and settle down in the near future, with hopes of finding an "attractive and cultured man."