International Egyptian award-winning actress, May El Ghety, was Zeinab’s guest on “Good Vibes Only” this Wednesday, and she shared her experience working on both local and international projects, and talked about her many talents, from acting to singing to getting a master's degree in psychology.

May has come from a very artistic family, being the daughter of the iconic writer and TV presenter Mohamed Elghety and Mona Barouma, the successful writer and TV presenter. May’s sister, Mayar El Ghety is also an incredibly successful actress, this has inspired May to pave a path in the film industry. When asked about the impact of having such an artistic family, May expressed that “It has influenced me greatly of course. I think part of it is just growing around people that have such a great passion for art, filmmaking, and storytelling. It became a huge part of my personality where everything around me has transformed into a work of art. It just kind of dominated my thinking my whole life, and it made me realize how much this is such an important thing for people to be able to watch themselves and relate to stories that they see..”

The Impact Of Starting Acting At A Young Age

May began her acting career at an early age, starring in “Al Shabaka Al Mashoura”, “Awasef Al Nesaa'”, “Bent Men El Zaman Da” and “Captain Hima”. El Ghety commented on starting this journey at such a young age, as she started acting at the tender age of 5, “I don’t feel like my career actually started until I was twelve. The pressure was that I kind of had to learn a little bit late that this takes away from my childhood [but] I’m very grateful for it and I appreciate my journey.”

“Children learn with social cues, and at an age where everyone around is just a model, so you’re just absorbing everything as a child. I feel like it made me mature too fast, and I got accustomed to dealing with a lot of adults around me, so when I went back to school it felt really difficult to relate to people around me. I felt like something that I would say or do and the way I behave would seem unusual or strange. I grow up into that just waiting that I can relate to others and for others to relate to me,” May continued.

May El Ghety On Getting A Master's Degree In Psychology

Along with her very successful body of work, El Ghety has also done a master’s degree in psychology, “I studied psychology, and I just had a passion for psychology ever since I was young, and I thought it had so much to do with acting.

I feel like it’s another way of trying to understand how to portray people better and portray their emotions better. It helps you understand the character that you’re reading on paper and make it into blood and flesh.

Part of it is [that] I wanted to help people as much as I can. Of course, as much as art is an incredible way to do so, I just wanted to feel like I can do it on a one-to-one scale, so I went ahead and got my masters in the UK.”

El Ghety On "Awlad Abed"

May discussed working on the 2023 series "Awlad Abed", directed by Akram Farid and written by Samah El Hariry, “It’s quite interesting. When I first got the call that they’d be interested in me to play the part, I literally just got to the UK. So I was like I’m still starting my program and they want me back to shoot? I still got this opportunity. It’s a family show and I think it resonates with a lot of families in Egypt, So I wanted to do that kind of thing. Working with Akram Farid was lovely.

Playing a villain was fun and challenging to El Ghety, “I feel like it’s an excuse for us to do things that we wouldn’t usually do. What I liked about it is that it gives you so many reasons why someone could turn into that kind of person and I like that. We all have justifications as to why we sometimes act differently than who we usually are. It was interesting as it’s a very complicated character… as she transitions into kind of a villain,” May said.

El Ghety On “MAMA”

Some of El Ghety's most recent projects include, “MAMA” and “Kamla”, which both debuted in international film festivals like Cairo International Film Festival and the Red Sea International Film Festival.

When asked about her award-winning short movie “MAMA”, and why she chose to be part of this project in the first place, El Ghety stated, “I tend to have this intuition, it’s not perfect all the time, but at that time we were getting into COVID, and I watched a couple of Naji Ismail stuff, and Kawthar Younis was on the project and she’s a lovely person. The final version that everyone saw, wasn’t the first draft, it was kind of different point of view in telling the story, and it was based on a true story, that’s something that always gets my attention.”

“MAMA” is a bit morbid, It’s a black-and-white dark film. It’s about a young woman who is trying to protect her brother by keeping a very scary secret in their house.

I’m a horror film puff, and I was like this is horror-ish, and these are just lovely filmmakers, I’m excited about the story, it’s going to be in black and white, and I felt like this should be a go,” explained May.

How It Was Working On “Kamla”

As for El Ghety’s role in “Kamla” as Asmaa, she expressed her excitement by saying, “I got excited about the film because it was about FGM, and it’s one of those topics that we tend to see, kind of appear as a sideline in a story or a film, there’s no film or a story that has been told directly revolves around this.

The screenwriter was inspired by a story that actually happened for a girl that was being forced into a marriage, and the whole story had a very sad ending, that’s what inspired the whole film, and it’s about a friendship that grows between a psychiatrist and a patient, and it highlights all the difficulties, the tragic effects that happen due to FGM.”

May explained that playing such a heavy role has had some effects on her, “It was difficult of course. There are 2 factors in there, one is that as an actor you have to have a lot of baggage to be able to extract from that things to put into your character and the other thing is, you always kind of leave with a part of that character with you. It was hard during the shooting itself, certain things were emotionally very difficult.”

When asked about how she can shut her mind off after a long day of shooting and how she can keep her sanity by switching-off at the end of the day, “The standard advice is lots of self-care, surround yourself with loved ones, give yourself a sense of routine, and that once you leave the set you go back to your family, you talk to your friends and loved ones, and you just get back into your life.”

On Starring In Her Latest Project “Sugar Daddy”

“I don’t do comedies as you can see, so that was quite a challenge. There are plenty of stars in that film, it’s super light-hearted, super funny, and definitely took me out of my comfort zone.

It’s about a family man, and he kind of decides to change that, and he has his sons, and each of them his own different love story,” May explained.

On Working With Disney On “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire”

“Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire” is a 10-part anthology, co-directed by Ahmed Teilab and produced by Peter Ramsey, co-director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,

When asked about how May got the part and how did it feel, “I was recommended by the director. I’m just so excited to be part of it. You don’t believe it when you first hear it. It was just an incredible experience. The anthology takes part in different parts of Africa and it’s sci-fi. It’s unbelievable and I’m very very proud of it. It was an animation, so it was recorded in the studio [as] you get to be as silly as possible.”

May On Working On The International Movie “Due Dating”

“It’s a rom-com, it follows a story of a writer, a very interesting type of modern man who doesn’t understand the struggles women goes through. I happen to be his ex. He’s struggling to get over his ex and he’s dating a lovely pregnant lady.”

On Becoming International

“Everyone must have this ambition when you’re working in the arts… you tend to be bound by the stories of your country. It’s more about the challenge and pushing my skills forward.”

On Being A Patron Of Environmental And Humanitarian

May's success extends beyond her acting career as she is a patron of humanitarian causes, and she is the goodwill ambassador for Greenish & Very Nile in 2018, the Egyptian-based NGO that raises awareness on sustainability and climate change. “A few years ago I got really concerned with environmental issues. I tried to collaborate with different NGOs … and [tried] to drive this problem further and have more people become aware of it. This journey started around 2017…I tried my best… to raise awareness through social media and interviews to talk about how can we change our daily habits to be more environmentally friendly. Whether that be making sure that you lessen your consumption of single-use products or changing your diet to a more green diet.”

May On Her Music

“It’s been a year since I released my EP “Pink”, I’ve always enjoyed writing music and making music. I’m currently working on a new song.”

May’s Advice For Aspiring Actors

“There’s a lot of rejection, heartbreak and hours of waiting. The most important thing is being persistent. Learning as much as you can. It’s important to try to push through it. Stay persistent and expand.”

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