Director Taghrid Abouelhassan: “Short-Statured People Went to the Cinema for the First Time in Their Lives to Watch Snow White”
Snow White is a 2024 Egyptian feature film written and directed by Taghrid Abouelhassan and starring Mariam Sherif. The film was selected to close the 15th Malmö Arab Film Festival. We spoke with director Taghrid Abouelhassan about the film and its impact.
On the film’s arrival in Europe through the Malmö Arab Film Festival, director Taghrid Abouelhassan expressed her joy that Snow White concluded the festival’s 15th edition, saying:
“I’m very proud and happy to be at the Malmö Festival. It’s a very important festival that fosters connections between Arab communities and European societies through Arab cinema. We’re glad to see the film being watched by large audiences across different countries.”
As for the connection between the film’s title Snow White and its intended message, Taghreed said:
“When I wrote the film, I envisioned its heroine as a character from fairy tales—like Snow White or other global stories. After many conversations with short-statured individuals in Egypt—both men and women—I noticed they all loved the story of Snow White. That’s where the idea started to take shape. I began to question: Who defines beauty standards? Why hasn’t there been a short-statured heroine before? If Snow White were short-statured, would the prince still fall in love with her? Would the characters still admire her? Beauty standards are arbitrary—we created them. That’s where the choice of the title came from.”
On how she found Mariam Sherif for the lead role, Taghrid Abouelhassan shared:
“It was a long journey. I spoke with many short-statured individuals, and many of them mentioned Mariam Sherif as a role model, especially among the youth. It was difficult to find short-statured women to meet in person, until a friend of mine, Dina Shaaban, told me about Mariam Sherif and her presence on social media. I contacted her and her family—she was studying pharmacy in Germany. I traveled to meet her, and we began reading the script together. Since then, we’ve developed both a professional relationship and a personal friendship.”
When asked the same question we asked Maryam—how they overcame the challenges of acting and filming for the first time— Taghrid Abouelhassan replied:
“Maryam is extremely intelligent. That was clear from how she speaks, her education, and many other things. She had no fear of the camera because she had a greater goal: to empower short-statured individuals to remain visible in society and not be afraid. So she managed to overcome any anxiety or fear.
The real challenge for me was that the character she played was quite different from her real self—older, a mother and housewife, and from a different social, cultural, and economic background. It required a great deal of time and in-depth research for Mariam to embody this role convincingly.”
Regarding the film’s success, its festival circuit, and awards, Taghreed said she feels satisfied and happy with the outcome, especially with the tremendous response on social media.
“Many short-statured people in Egypt began reaching out to us. Some of them said, ‘We’ve never been to the cinema in our entire lives, but we’ll go now—for this film—for the first time ever.’”
On the film’s contribution to combating bullying against short-statured individuals and others, Taghreed affirmed that the film’s message was received:
“There are no physical attributes that should prevent anyone from living a full life. We encourage everyone who sees themselves in this story to recognize their strengths—as we see them too.”
When asked whether she intends to continue exploring similar human-centered themes in her future films, Taghreed responded:
“I’m passionate about the unconventional hero—those we’re not used to seeing on screen. Like a humble elderly man, or an older woman, or a protagonist without superpowers. We want to see purely Egyptian stories. I’ll be honest—I’m biased toward women. I want to see more women on screen, more female filmmakers, and more women in crews—so we can feel empowered to tell our stories.”
In closing, Taghreed Abou El-Hassan shared her hope that Snow White will travel the world, so its message can reach as many people as possible.
Snow White is a 2024 Egyptian feature film written and directed by Taghreed Abou El-Hassan, starring Mariam Sherif, Karim Fahmy, Mohamed Mamdouh, Mohamed Gomaa, Safwa, Nihal Kamal, Amr Diesel, and Khaled Sarhan. It had its world premiere at the most recent Red Sea International Film Festival and its Scandinavian premiere at the Malmö Arab Film Festival. The film tells the story of Iman, a young Egyptian woman of short stature, who embarks on a deeply personal and human journey to challenge societal perceptions in her quest for love, acceptance, and belonging.
Snow White is the first Egyptian feature film to star a short-statured woman in a bold artistic and humanistic step. The film received development and production support from the UNFPA in 2020 and won the International Emerging Talent Association award at the Cairo International Film Festival. Mariam Sherif also won Best Actress at the Red Sea Festival 2024 for her powerful performance in the film.
Interview by: Mostafa Qaoud
Exclusive to the Malmö Arab Film Festival
