Egyptian actress Menna Shalabi won the award for best actress at the 6th Malmo Arab Film Festival, which runs between 30 September and 5 October in Malmo, Sweden.
The award is for Shalabi's role in Nawara, a film by Egyptian director Hala Khalil starring Shalabi, Mahmoud Hemeda and Sherine Reda.
Nawara opened the festival on 30 September and also scooped an award for the best scenario, written by Hala Khalil
Released in 2015, the film has brought Shalabi many awards including best actress at the Dubai International Film Festival (2015), where the film premiered and competed for the Muhr Awards.
Shalabi also won the best actress award at Morocco’s Tetouan International Mediterranean Film Festival, which took place in April 2016.
Soon after, Shalabi called Nawara "a role of a lifetime."
Nawara is set in the wake of Egypt’s 2011 Revolution, centring on a woman in her twenties who works as a housemaid at a villa in a luxury compound.
As the owners flee the politically unstable country, she invites her fiancé over, and together they enjoy a taste of the life of the rich and famous.
All major awards at the 6th Malmo Arab Film Festival were announced today.
Another winner from Egypt was Dry Hot Summers, a short film by Sherif Elbendary, which was awarded Best Short Film together with Kingdom Garbage by Iraqi filmmaker Yasir Karim.
The audience award will be announced during the closing gala on 5 October.
