Producer Mohamed Agamy, Lead Actor Miriam Sherif and Writer/Director Taghrid Abouelhassan talk to Fest Track about perspective, approach and responsibility in regards to the new film "Snow White: The Untold Story" playing the Competition section at the 2025 Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
00:00This is Tim Wasberg, I'm here in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the Red
00:29Sea International Film Festival, now relocated into the historic part of the city, Abelah.
00:36Actually, when we first thought of Iman, we wanted to show a really strong Egyptian woman
00:44and she embodies that in every aspect. Egyptian women have a lot of responsibilities.
00:49They're like the backbone of the family. They're responsible for everything and they also have this vulnerability.
00:56They really want a partner, they really want a man who protects him, to protect the family
01:05and to carry some of the burdens because they're very, very responsible and they have a lot
01:10of financial, educational, they're responsible for the prosperity of the whole family.
01:17And then there's this romantic side that everyone dreams of, every one of the women, such a young woman like her.
01:24The ideal.
01:25Yeah, of a prince charming, of being loved for who she is, of being kind of rewarded for all the effort she does
01:32and for carrying this strong conservative persona out of the streets.
01:37So this is how we thought of tackling this character through a little person, through Iman,
01:44that even has everything doubled for the circumstances that she has with dwarfism and her heart.
01:52We have met a real example of Iman, the struggling women. The women who are so strong yet
02:13We've met a real example of a man, the struggling woman, the woman who is so strong yet too vulnerable, that her love life is just like the movie.
02:30So I've talked with her, so I noticed how she speaks, I noticed how she talks about her love life, I noticed how she actually deals with her family members.
02:42So I did love to portray that and represent it in the cinema to deliver the message of that little women are just, they are women who have needs just like any other woman.
02:56So that was my main focus.
02:59Can you talk about finding her confidence?
03:01You know, obviously you have that connection.
03:04But I'm really excited.
03:06I'm not sure what you're saying to her.
03:08They are all the same.
03:09They are all the same.
03:10You don't know about something else.
03:11and I'm from the place.
03:17The whole area.
03:25Could you talk about finding her confidence?
03:27You know, obviously you have that confidence,
03:29but how you found that sort of that balance?
03:31When I saw actually the character
03:33when she deals with
03:35the people
03:37around her and for
03:39men, I'd like to portray
03:41that we are not
03:43that harsh.
03:45Why are you afraid of
03:47little persons? They're not that harsh.
03:49They are passionate, they do
03:51have emotions and they're funny as
03:53well, but not funny
03:55the way they
03:57allow, not as funny
03:59as the way people mock
04:01us, you know? Funny in the way
04:03of sense of humor. They're funny
04:05just like anyone's funny,
04:07not funny as
04:09portraying that they're in it.
04:11the nice people, the nice people
04:13we are
04:15we're so happy
04:17the nice people, from the
04:19example of...
04:21You're right now. I'm in Mexico.
04:27Tell me,
04:28you should be kidding. No one's only God
04:29called me.
04:33We work as a one team,
04:35from the beginning, and even all the crew,
04:37so I saw her actually managing this really very very well and she is
04:43listening to everyone and even giving the credits to everyone of the crew okay
04:48so and she used to ask many of the crew about the point of view like like an
04:55audience you know because the point about Snow White that we we put some
05:00shed light on the invisible little people who usually wear gray wear some
05:07colors like the palette colors look like invisible and we make it like
05:12invisible in front of all the world or the audience and that's actually what I
05:16felt yesterday the people so the not even even the people actually so many of
05:25characters along the movie who like being invisible on the camera
05:30but then you also have to use perspective in terms of the cinema in order to do
05:59this which you do and how you show Aman's point of view but then also
06:04capturing the elation like you on swing there's such a childlike quality and yet
06:10when she meets the man that she was in love with she towers over him in so many
06:17ways figuratively and emotional could you talk about capturing that cinematically
06:23but also capturing Miriam and back and forth making sure that work actually this I was always
06:30thinking in cinematography that she's searched she's locked in many ways that when she says them
06:36I'm just locked in this body I wanted to feel this still like claustrophobic and barrier between us and between her and the society when she walks she's
06:48almost seen from a distance she's behind something blocking her from the audience
06:53until she goes to to she's flying when she was happy and she she just let go for a
07:00moment she forgot even the guy who was with her she just found herself flying her
07:05veil flew and she started like flying in the air when she needs her lover she wants to
07:12feel equal and I tried to get from the cinematography that there is a bridge hovering
07:17over him too so you're not that tall after all and when she leaves them you see
07:22her coming higher in the frame and he's getting smooth
