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Ahd Kamel is writing history as she is going to be the first Saudi woman to star in a Netflix series. Ahd Kamel is an actor, director, and filmmaker born and raised in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She got her directing degree from a university in the United States.
Ahd Kamel is a woman of ‘firsts’. She is the first Saudi ever to get a directing degree from New York Film Academy. She has been BAFTA nominated for her role in Wadjda which was Saudi Arabia’s first feature film. Her second film, Sanctity, was the first Saudi film to feature in Berlin Film Festival. And now, she is the first Saudi woman to star in a Netflix series called The Collateral alongside Carey Mulligan, John Simm, Billie Piper, and July Namir.
She will play the character of a Muslim woman living in London, called Fatima. The story revolves around a pizza delivery man who was shot to death and the consequences of this shooting. More details about the show and the cast are yet to be announced. But it already has become a show that we are desperately waiting for.
Ahd Kamel has won many awards for her roles in films like The Shoemaker, Sanctity, Razaan, and La Saintete which she has also directed. She completed her BFA in Communications & Animations at Parsons School of Design and learned acting from the very acclaimed William Esper at the Esper Studios. She is a BAFTA nominated actress. Her directorial debut film, The Shoemaker, was the best short film at Beirut International Film Festival. Her acting debut got her the Best Actress Award at San Francisco International Film Festival in 2006.
According to Ahd Kamel, she never thought that being a Saudi woman would be so trendy. She looks forward to changing the discourse about Saudi women. She sees herself as the change that is needed to change the way people see them.
This article is written by Sadia Zafar.
