Toronto International Film Festival Selects Ahmed Malek as Part of the 2018 Rising Stars Programme

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Attending the Premiere of His Film Ext/Night at the Festival

Toronto International Film Festival Selects Ahmed Malek as Part of the 2018 Rising Stars Programme


The Toronto International Film Festival (6-16 September) has selected Ahmed Malek as part of their 2018 Rising Stars Programme (TIFF Rising Stars), in a list of eight up and coming young acting talents who have has a successful career during the past year and are poised for international success. The festival will also witness the world premiere for Ext/ Night by director Ahmad Abdalla, where Malek takes part in the film.

Established in 2011, TIFF Rising Stars (7-10 September) is a four day intensive programme featuring a series of specialized programming organized by TIFF's Industry team that includes seminars with filmmakers, as well as a series of unique networking opportunities and invitations to attend TIFF screenings and events.

This is the second time in less than a year to have Malek's name picked on a list of burgeoning acting talents. In December 2017, he was picked by Screen International as one of the five Arab Stars of Tomorrow during the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

Malek is currently taking part in his first international film, Montreal Girls by Canadian director Patricia Chica, where he will be playing Basel, an Egyptian student who travels to Montreal on a medical school scholarship. He dreams of becoming a poet until he meets three girls who shatter his perceptions and reveal to him his true destiny.

Recently, Malek finished shooting his scenes for the new films Gunshot by Karim El Shenawy and Al Deif (The Guest), directed by Hadi El Bagoury and written by Ibrahim Eissa. Gunshot and The Guest are both produced by iProductions and will be released in theaters soon.

Sheikh Jackson, which features Malek, has been selected as Egypt's official submission to the 2018 Academy Awards for Best Foreign-Language Film. Malek was recently chosen by the board of the Shnit Worldwide Short film festival as a jury member of the Realtime Competition.