ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — Actress Nora Armani was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening ceremony of the Alexandria Film Festival’s 38th edition on Wednesday, October 5, at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in presence of the great Egyptian film star and producer Mahmoud Hemeda, after whom this edition of the festival is named, Deputy Minister of Culture, Dr. Khaled El Galili, Festival Director film critic Al Amir Abaza, and a host of Egyptian, Arab and European movie stars.
Armani held a press conference on October 6, and spoke about receiving the award, past television and stage work in Egypt with the late star Gamil Rateb, and stage and TV personality Mohamed Sobhi, her future plans, her own script ready to be filmed and her recent work on the Netflix feature film Absolute Dominion due to be released early 2023. “My roots are here in Egypt, I like the work of Faten Hamama and Soad Hosny. I would be delighted to be back and work in the Hollywood of the Middle East in addition to my work in the USA, France, and Armenia,” said the charming actress. A number of interviews for Egyptian TV, and a host of media and print outlets followed the conference.
Armani met with the students and faculty of the Egypt-Japan University for Science and Technology (E-JUST) on Sunday, October 9, in Borg El Arab, Alexandria, where she shared her artistic journey and answered students’ questions. The session was moderated by Alexandria Film Festival Director, Al Amir Abaza.
Nora Armani was born in Cairo, Egypt, to Armenian parents. A versatile actress with multiple awards, she is a deeply rooted activist and humanitarian. Fluent in six languages, she holds two master’s degrees; an MA in Theatre from Hunter College CUNY, and an M.Sc. in sociology from LSE, University of London, and has a BA from the American University in Cairo. Her actor training includes RADA, UCLA, and numerous workshops such as Ariane Mnouchkine’s acclaimed Théâtre du Soleil (Paris) and Simon McBurney’s Complicite Theatre (London).
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Most recently, Armani shot scenes for the Netflix feature film “Absolute Dominion,” directed by Lexi Alexander to be released in early 2023. “Labyrinth,” a feature film in which she co-stars with Serge Avedikian, directed by Mikayel Dovlatyan, recently premiered in Armenia and will be released in Paris soon.
Nora’s multiple screen credits as an actor include “I am Gitmo” (Cannes), “La Nouvelle Eve” (with Karin Viard), “Voisin Voisine” (with Anemone), “Le Coeur à l’Ouvrage” (France), “Deadline in Seven Days” (Armenia), “Labyrinth” (Armenia), “Chasing Taste,” “Good Funk,” “Bourek,” “Last Station,” “Santa Claus in Baghdad” and numerous shorts. She has a powerful screen and stage presence and interprets lead roles in English, French, Armenian, Arabic, and Italian. TV roles include “Black List: Redemption” (NBC), “Casualty” (BBC), “Golden Boy” (CBS), and “Al Asdiqaa – The Friends” (Egyptian TV). A film she directed, iMigrant Woman, won her the Best Woman Filmmaker of a Short award at the Toronto Independent Film Festival (Cift). Her role in “Labyrinth” has earned her the Best Actress Award at the Syunik Film Festival.
Nora Armani’s forthcoming work includes a solo performance in her own English translation of “Mercedes and Zaruhi,” written in Armenian by Anush Aslibekyan, a playwright and theatre critic from Armenia. Nora will present the play in English at the UnitedSolo Theatre Festival on Theatre Row in an Off-Broadway production. The play is about repatriations to the Soviet Union during Stalin told through the correspondence between two sisters.
