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Christine Solomon Brings It To Egyptian Cinema
By JOSEPH MAYTON (Middle East Times)Published: September 01, 2008
CAIRO -- Most Egyptian actors aspire for Hollywood, acknowledgment in the West and a shot at fame. But for Christine Solomon returning to the homeland of her youth was the route she took to stardom. And return she did.
Her story is a success that young women across the globe will undoubtedly find inspiring.
Despite being born in Cairo, Montreal has become her home, having moved to the frigid Canadian city when she was seven, but the Egyptian cinema had always been one of her dreams since changing from modeling to acting a decade ago.
Before her return to Egypt two years ago, Solomon had placed herself on the path to success after gaining some notoriety in a Canadian actors troupe that toured Quebec.
"After that I studied theater for three years," she tells the Middle East Times. This was her time to improve on her rudimentary acting abilities, she said.
It paid off.
"After that, I went to Los Angeles to work for a while. I did a few gigs and some modeling and was part of a theater company," which she says was the highlight of the trip. What she gained in L.A. helped her land a larger role back in Canada in one of the larger holiday performances at the time: "Holiday Jingle."
It was that performance that gave Solomon the buzz needed to wedge her into the Egyptian film scene.
"Because of that ["Holiday Jingle"] I was invited to the Cairo Film Festival and met with a few directors, including Youssef Chahine," she says. "There was a ton of buzz around me at the time and people were saying 'what's with her?'" It was really exciting. I gave a bunch of interviews and a lot of people wanted me to be a part of their work."
It was here in Cairo at the 2006 Film Festival when her big breaks came. Solomon met with a number of directors and agreed to act in two films, "Balad Al Banat" and "Basra."
"I had been planning to do a small part in a Chahine film, but scheduling conflicts didn't allow it to happen, unfortunately," she says, "but these two films are very important to me and I am pretty excited about that."
Basra has already received great attention, winning best screenplay at Egypt's Naguib Sawiris awards. It is being showcased at this fall's Valencia Film Festival in Spain where it is an official selection.
Her upcoming film, "Heliopolis" is what Solomon says is one of the better attempts by Egyptian cinema to create a film worthy of Western recognition. "It's already getting people excited in Egypt and I am proud to be in it," she says.
Solomon plays a Gothic character -- characterized by the black hair, black lipstick and eyeliner with a pale look akin to Christina Ricci in The Addam's Family -- that is holed up in a Cairo hotel.
"The movie talks about a lot, but nothing really gets accomplished. Welcome to Cairo in a sense, because this is kind of what happens in Cairo," the actress tells.
But films aside, Solomon likes to talk politics and culture, especially considering what could be a contentious ethnic background. Still, the young actress says she has never felt discriminated in either the West or in Egypt.
"I have had no problems with me being Arab. The only issue was 9/11, but that wasn't much," she admits.
The young actress' return to Cairo two years ago signaled a change in her understanding of her own cultural heritage. She says that her Arabic was not up to the standards needed for the film industry, so she hired a language coach to improve her accent.
"Growing up in Canada my parents never forced me to learn about Egypt. They wanted me to embrace Canadian culture," she says, revealing a common trait among immigrants to the United States and Canada who want to assimilate into their new home instead of being counter to the majority.
"So, when I arrived in Egypt I had a huge culture shock. But I got over that quickly and have been coming back for film openings and new opportunities."
Her only qualm with Egyptian cinema is their often-negative portrayal of female figures, which Solomon argues, "gives the wrong portrayal as they deserve. Its kind of cliché, a lot of stuff that is shown on Egyptian film."
Solomon plans on not stopping at conquering Egyptian cinema. Already she is in discussions with Halle Berry's manager to move to the United States and act in Hollywood on a grand scale.
"Right now, besides trying to get into Hollywood, I want to go to Hollywood," she admits. "I was going to be in one film, but had to pull out at the last minute because of other obligations."
A bright future that is inspiring to both Egyptians and Westerners who often see the film industry as rigid and extremely difficult to get into, Solomon has made it look easy.
"I am good at networking; I feel that is my secret that can help other women get their foot in the door."
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i dont think its gonna work as big as she wanted....with the lebs already portraying western girl parts that are a million times more pretty than she is, there is too much competition...especially since she is up against other native french speakers (lebanon) so it won't even matter if she is from canada or not.
also i dont like how she said that egypt film often portrays the female nagatively...thats a load of bull because in every movie i have seen, new AND old and we are talking a gizillion i have seen too....the woman is usually the one teaching the man how to be straight. even in movies i have seen where the girls character is a total sharmoota, she ends up with a good name and everyone is her friend and heling her and stuff. they even made a funny sexy thing out of raya and sekinia with the last cinema and all sexy butt somaya playing sekina when we all know the real sekina was a dog!
Posts: 2757 | From: YOU CAN ONLY SEE WHAT I CHOOSE TO SHOW, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE YOU JUST DONT KNOW | Registered: Oct 2007
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OMG!!! HI HATER, I SEEE U, HI HATER , The way your talking sound to me like YOUR JEALOUS . U should be proud that someone Arabic of are kind is making it big but instead your talking all this negative **** about her . Quote "i don't think its going to work as big as she wanted". WHO ARE U to say that????? At least she has accomplished her goals not like some of us . And by the way yes maybe there is a million prettier girls out there but most Lebanese girls are fake from head to toe, she is all real noo plastic surgery is done , she is naturally beautiful and by the way she has Lebanese blood in her (do your research before talking) , and its not always about the looks its about the talent , and she got talent she knows how to act . By the way in egypt Lebanese girls no offense are known to open their legs to get into the business , and they have no acting education. There's actually a ton of buzz in Egypt about her and a lot of people in the business wanna work with her and how do i know that.... is because i have friends in egypt and i watch Arabic news. So stop hating, u should support instead of being negative. U go Christine!!!! U have lots of support and fans!!!!! Tigerlili! I love this article! Good work!
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Heliopolis, a city in Egypt on the outskirts of Cairo, was at one time in ancient history referred to as “City of the Sun.” It is ironic then that this city, named after the planet’s light source, would be a dark place of stagnant policy and outdated systems — a place desperately in need of illumination.
Christine Solomon grew up in Egypt and moved to Canada at age 7. She stars in the Ahmad Abdalla’s “Heliopolis,” a film that chronicles five modern Egyptian children over the course of a full day, with each trying to achieve a different goal and struggling to do so. The actress portrays a gothic woman stuck in a hotel in the city of Heliopolis, providing much of the comic relief in the film.
Solomon grew up speaking French and English in Montreal. It wasn’t until she attended the Cairo International Film Festival in 2006 and got her “big break,” that she started to seriously perfect her Arabic and jump feet first into the Middle Eastern film arena.
Five months after attending the festival, Christine moved to Cairo. For a year and a half, she pursued her goals of landing movie roles and gaining fluency in her ethnic language. A determined student, Solomon forced herself to speak only in Arabic. She sought to learn words of emotion and feeling from anyone and anything around her — like hotel concierges and cab drivers. These tactics proved quite successful and now this young actress is frequently invited to interview with Arabic magazines and appear on Arabic television shows.
“Egypt is the Hollywood of the Middle East. If you want to make it (in Middle Eastern film) you have to go there,” Solomon said in a recent interview with Blast. While living in Egypt, she renovated and lived in the apartment of her deceased grandmother, a home that had not been occupied in 19 years. “I lived with my Aunt for two months and then decided I wanted to live on my own, it was easier. In Egyptian culture, family likes to be together all the time. I wanted to focus on my work and needed my space.”
Solomon described having difficulties with the culture, even the men renovating her apartment resented a woman giving them orders.
“Heliopolis” (which will be presented during the Toronto International Film Festival running from September 10-19) has a paradoxically Western feel to it, according to the actress. “It has a Woody Allen style to it,” Solomon said, “completely different from other Egyptian films.”
The movie’s setting and storyline introduce the Egyptian cultural and societal systems to the mainstream. “The essential message is that everyone is striving to get to their goals and nothing happens,” Solomon said. “The message is that the system needs to change.”
For a film from which great things were not the least expected, “Heliopolis” shows promise, and you could hear it loud and clear in Solomon’s voice. “Everyone on board just felt there was something special about it,” she said. “I have never seen anything like this in Egypt.”
Solomon said some people around her initially expressed doubt about the film “In the beginning some people told me not to get involved, because it isn’t a box office film, but I felt something special,” she said. “I didn’t care about what people said. I think that is what made it special. All the actors understood this. It’s like Slumdog Millionaire … It has a powerful message.”
A powerful message, a powerful comparison, and only time will tell on the film. But for Solomon, the significance in the film’s message is poignant. There are 80 million people living in Egypt, and most of them live near Cairo. Because of the sheer volume of the masses, as Solomon puts it, “things are really slow.” The hope is for the film to raise awareness among the young Egyptian population.
Born in the Middle East, raised in Canada, and having traveled all over the world, Solomon said her ultimate goal is “serenity and peace.” Being a part of this story is one step in this quest.
“Heliopolis” will premiere at both the 2009 Toronto and Vancouver International Film Festivals. It will release December 1 in Egypt. No American release plans have been announced.
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