🍿 2022-03-17 00:51:00 – Paris/France.
While you stir your coffee, Dina Shihabi marvels at the city of Buenos Aires. His gaze is lost in the landscape of Buenos Aires at the same time as he recalls his days in Beirut. Quickly, the work puts it in focus. He adjusts his green headband and sketches himself for a photo. One, two, three movements sum up years of preparation, although the smile and the enthusiasm to discover a new place do not disappear throughout the interview. He takes a sip of an almond milk cortado and accepts a second when the time is right. And it is that this actress born in Saudi Arabia, who shone for her role in the series Sheet 81 (Netflix), He only has a few hours left in Argentina and he must enjoy every experience. It has a moment, but He knows -and promises- that he will come back.
Dyne was born in 1989 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and although she knew from an early age what she wanted to be and where she wanted to go, she never imagined sitting in a cafe in the neighborhood of Palermo for an interview with THE NATION. He tells anecdotes, laughs and gets excited when he watches a video of Boca supporters in the middle of a match. Argentina has something that captivates her and every aspect she knows captivates her more. But to get to this moment, he had to go a long way: he went from professional ballerina escape warlike conflict; from survey in New York and work as receptionist, barista and waitressuntil going to Angels and work for Netflix. Several lives in just 32 years.
Dina Shihabi smiles between photo and photo and prepares to speak with La Nación
shihabi He has always been a sportsman. Her fanaticism for the sport started when she was very young, where she already showed a lot of skill. On every occasion, between class and class, he played football with his friends or accepted the first proposal for a race or competition. However, everything changed completely when, at the age of six, The Saudi government prohibits women from practicing any type of sport.. “It was very traumatic. My parents talked to me and decided to move to Dubai, which was still a brand new city, ”he recalls in dialogue with this media. there was other legislation, more freedom for women and "a special energy".
Like many things in life, sometimes it's all about being in the right place at the right time and that was how it was for Dina. With each move, his reality reset and started back to "zero" and, unknowingly, he was getting closer and closer to realizing his dreams. “A few years later, I started taking dance classes with Sharmmilla Kamte. I had been there since I was 11 years old. They gave me confidence and that's when my teacher told me that he had a natural talent for playing and that I should think about devoting myself to it,” he said.
Dina Shihabi, actress of Archivo 81, during her visit to Buenos Aires, poses for LA NACION at the Paul French Gallery, by Palermosilvana Colombo
In turn, he remarked, “I like to dance. Those years as a professional dancer were magical, I felt I had found my destiny and my purpose. I didn't care, I even skipped school to go to dance class”. Every time he talks about dancing, he smiles and gets excited. Midway through the conversation, he left a short but firm silence, took another sip of coffee, straightened his hair, and continued with his story.
Her life in Dubai ended momentarily when her parents decided to move to Beirut, Lebanon. “I was devastated. I thought 'but I'm a dancer in Dubai, they're ruining my life'. But when I arrived, everything changed. I started going out every night, I fell in love, I was fascinated by people. It was exciting and Dubai didn't have that. Lebanon has a culture, a history and lived golden moments“, he summarized.
Unfortunately, on February 14, 2005 and in the midst of a suicide attack, Prime Minister Rafic Hariri was assassinated and life in this region has never been the same. “We had to stay in our homes for two weeks, evacuate…schools were closed, there were riots in the streets. It became very dangerous and we had to return to Dubai. I felt very sad, Lebanon changed my life and opened my mind to see another way of living,” he lamented. The bustle of the city of Buenos Aires reminds him of Beirut. The movement and “the blood and passion of the people,” he says, are very similar: “Coming to Buenos Aires made me realize what it means to live, the body is like fire”.
The actress walked through Palermo and somehow remembered her days in BeirutInstagram: @shihabidina
At 18, three moves and a war above him, he listens to this teacher who recommends him to play and moved to New York. Her parents have always supported her. Although he acknowledges that it is difficult to find as much support in a culture as the one he comes from, he is delighted to know that her family has always prioritized her happiness over what they will say. In the Big Apple, he encountered something he had never seen before and experienced extreme freedom. “In the Middle East, because you are a woman, you are very protected., but New York, I felt alive and independent, free and wild, I felt like I could do anything. »
His early years were entirely devoted to studies and the preparation: eight hours a day shared between dance and theatre. But as he gained momentum and adapted to the American movement, he took a few odd jobs until he managed to convert. acting in its principal activity.
“It was two years of a lot of sacrifices, there are no shortcuts in this job,” he explains. Coffee is over and the Buenos Aires heat begins to play its game. Palermo begins to have more movement and while on one side the espresso machine turns on, Dyne don't lose your focus. He remembers his early years and how complicated they were. "It's a difficult job, there's a lot to do and I I never had anyone to guide me, I had to find out for myself“, recognize. It cost a lot, but it was possible and today she knows she was right (despite the fact that her parents tried to convince her to study something like “plan B”).
Dina Shihabi and Mamoudou Athie star in Archive 81, the series that is all the rage on Netflixnetflix.com
Your arrival at Netflix It happened many years ago and in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and an increase in cases, started recording file 81. “She was very scared. We were tested every day, the whole team had masks on all the time. It's wonderful how we managed all of this under such crazy circumstances. » After being selected during a casting, she took up the enormous challenge of star of a series for the giant of Streaming. Melody Pendras, her fictional character, is a young orphan who goes out of her way to find answers about her biological mother. In the rush to achieve this, he comes up against a sect and a secret bigger than just a place.
“I think Melody and I are quite similar. It's funny, when my brother watched the show he told me he saw me. I usually play very different people, which is my favorite role. Although with Melody there are quite a few differences, there's this part of me that wants to help everyone, make sure they're okay and loved“, he reflected in dialogue with THE NATION. Beyond fiction, find his teenage friend Mamoudou Athie (who steps into the shoes of protagonist Dan Turner) on set she helped make the experience even more memorable. So much so that his favorite scenes are “where Dan and Melody meet in dreams”.
While waiting for Netflix to confirm if there will be a second season of folder 81, He already has a few jobs going. Between August and October in the United States, it will be released Pain killer, a series that tells the story of the opiate crisis and where she will play "a very different role from Melody". Additionally, filming will begin in June. a film of which he did not want to give details and it's write your own project
No matter what he can work on or what role to play, he likes to help. He is recognized as someone willing to give advice and answer questions, take a photo or sign an autograph. She likes it, smiles and is happy if they recognize her in the street. She is excited to learn something new and passionate about culture shock and meeting new people. He wants to act, direct and produce his own story; he likes historical figures and understands how difficult it is to achieve certain dreams. He also admits that his beginnings were not easy but that the industry is changing.
Dina Shihabi was proud of everything she accomplished in her Silvana Colombo career
"When I started I could only play Arab women and now I've brought Melody to life in file 81 already this woman in Pain killer. They are not Arabs they're just people and it doesn't matter where they come from, I think it's very important. To see someone from Saudi Arabia who doesn't have to do something because she's Arab but because she's the right actress. The world is huge, anyone can be the protagonist of a show and I'm very happy that this is happening in my career. This is what I always wanted and what I told my representatives when I signed with them. »
Dinah Shihab She was the first Saudi woman to be accepted to Juilliard and New York University, as well as the first to star in a Netflix drama. Change suits you feels referent in front of thousands of women who aspire to the same thing.
The actress fell in love with the country and promises, when she returns, to stay there longer and travel as much as she can Instagram: @shihabidina
But just as his life has been marked by change, he is far from having found his place in the world. At Los Angeles met who has now become her friend and that, curiously, she married a Cordovan she met in Costa Rica. The ceremony took place in the city of Buenos Aires and how could it be otherwise, the actress said she was present: she packed her bags, took a plane and surprised her fans by sharing a photo on Instagram with a greeting in Spanish. Barely five days were enough for Dina to fall completely in love with Argentina and its people.
—What do you think of Argentina?
— I traveled for the wedding and now I don't want to leave. I will try to move to Argentina, I want to come and live here.
—What did you like most about the country?
-Walk around the city. I felt the energy and met many people; there is a lot of passion. I loved everything about this city and it blew my mind, it's definitely the best I've been to.
—Better than Los Angeles?
“Much better, by far. “I want to go back, at this time but next year. Stay two months, write, travel, immerse myself in culture. It seems to me that enough was enough, that I finished my cycle in the United States. I want to live in a place where I feel the culture, speak another language and learn Spanish.
—Is there anything you didn't like?
“No, there was nothing. In Argentina I lived very special moments, I feel honored and very happy. It's a reminder of the size of the world; I'm always focused on work, traveling and forgetting that the world is huge. Coming here does something in you, you feel that the world is full of possibilities and it feels good.
SOURCE: Reviews News
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