By: Yomna Walid&nbsp;
What started as a childhood dream of becoming an actor gradually became a journey of persistence, experimentation, and creative discovery for Seif Zahran. From visiting casting offices at just 15 to exploring acting, directing, music, and scriptwriting, Zahran has continued to look for ways to develop his craft and bring his creative ideas to life.
Although audiences may know him through his social media videos, Zahran says acting has always been his true passion. When acting opportunities became limited, he turned to content creation, a path that eventually opened new doors for him while also creating a new challenge: proving that he could move beyond being seen simply as a content creator.
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Now starring in &ldquo;Red Flag&rdquo; alongside Ahmed Hatem and Jamila Awad, Zahran takes on his first major film role while also contributing creatively to the film&rsquo;s marketing campaign. Working with the team, he helped turn the film&rsquo;s themes into a social media campaign that sparked conversation and audience engagement ahead of its release.
NileFM spoke with Seif Zahran to discuss his journey from aspiring actor to content creator and back toward acting, his experience on &ldquo;Red Flag,&rdquo; the film&rsquo;s creative marketing campaign, his work in writing and directing, and the dream role he hopes will show audiences another side of his talent.
Tell us more about Seif Zahran behind the camera. What is the side of you that people don&rsquo;t usually get to see?
I&rsquo;m an actor. I&rsquo;m not a content creator. As an actor, first and foremost. I only started making videos because I was trying to find a way into acting. I'd been chasing it since I was 15, sneaking into casting offices without an ID, until I finally got my first role at 22 in 2013. I acted steadily until 2017, then the roles dried up, so I turned to video content, and that ended up opening a lot of doors for me.
But I'm trying to move away from that now. People are quick to criticize content creators who act, and I want to be clear: this was a phase, not who I am. I didn't expect it to stretch on for years. I still enjoy making videos sometimes, but I don't consider myself a content creator.
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Take us behind the scenes of &ldquo;Red Flag.&rdquo; What was the experience of making the film like for you?
As I grew up, I realized that acting was what I truly loved. &ldquo;Red Flag&rdquo; was a big opportunity for me. It&rsquo;s the third film I&rsquo;ve worked on after &ldquo;Arousty&rdquo; and &ldquo;El Matareed,&rdquo; alongside my television work, but it&rsquo;s my first major film role.
I was nervous and really trying to give it everything I had. We filmed over a long period, and throughout the process, I was always trying to bring out the best performance I could.
You previously worked with Ahmed Hatem and Jamila Awad in &ldquo;Arousty.&rdquo; How was working with them again in &ldquo;Red Flag&rdquo;?
Ahmed is one of the closest people to me; we've collaborated on a lot of projects, so working together again was amazing. Jamila and I had only shared one day of shooting on "Arousty" and crossed paths a couple of times since, so "Red Flag" was really the first time we got to know each other properly. She's a genuine, wonderful person, and I feel lucky to now call her a friend.
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What was the best feedback you received after audiences watched the movie?
The reactions have been mixed. Some people were happy with my performance, while others felt that I wasn&rsquo;t ready for the opportunity because I came from a content-creation background. Others said that I did well.
It has been a mix of opinions, but I hope I get more opportunities to learn from my mistakes and become better in the future. Everyone needs to listen to criticism and use it to improve rather than thinking they did everything perfectly.
The things people criticized me for are definitely things I can learn from, and I&rsquo;m very grateful to everyone who enjoyed my performance and supported me.
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&ldquo;Red Flag&rdquo; explores the idea of red flags in relationships. What is one red flag in a person that would make you decide not to deal with them?
Lying, even if it&rsquo;s about something small. I feel like that&rsquo;s a warning sign that tells you to stay away or run.
How did the idea of creating short reels and teasing videos for &ldquo;Red Flag&rdquo; come about?
It was part of a campaign called "Rawa7y 3la Bet Abouki," led by Khaled Gohar, but honestly, it was a group effort; we had a WhatsApp group where ideas came from everyone involved. I was the one who suggested making a video around the "Red Flag" song; Khaled brought the concept and the song itself, and I wrote the lyrics, composed it, and produced the music. I also built out the campaign around the song with Lilly Samy, worked on creative video with Malak Dahshan, and helped make the "Red Flag" music video.
Audiences really engaged with the short reels and teasers. Tell us more about the audience&rsquo;s reaction and how you experienced it?
I don't think a film had been marketed quite like this before its release, and it felt right, because the campaign tapped into exactly what "Red Flag" is about, something people are already talking about constantly. Ahmed delivering a line like "Rawa7y 3la Bet Abouki" with that toxic energy is a big part of why it landed. I'm proud we took the initiative, and I hope more productions try something this creative with their marketing.
Take us through your scriptwriting journey in &ldquo;Al Eind.&rdquo; What inspired you to take on this side of the project?
I&rsquo;ve always tried to do things beyond acting. I also have experience in writing, including work on &ldquo;Abla Fahita&rdquo; and the series &ldquo;Al Eind.&rdquo; I still don&rsquo;t know what will happen with &ldquo;Al Eind&rdquo; because I haven&rsquo;t heard any updates about it.
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Between acting and singing, which one feels closer to you?
I make musical content, and I had an experience about six years ago called &ldquo;Ma&rsquo;adarsh Asohab.&rdquo; I did something similar again with &ldquo;Red Flag.&rdquo; But I&rsquo;m not a singer, and I don&rsquo;t really consider myself connected to singing.
I&rsquo;m not planning to pursue it professionally, although I might occasionally have fun with it and make something. I don&rsquo;t see it as a career for me, and I don&rsquo;t think my voice is the best.
What is one dream you are still hoping to achieve?
I really want to get a role that isn&rsquo;t comedic and is completely different from me, both in appearance and personality. I want to show people that I&rsquo;m capable of much more than that.
I hope I get an opportunity like that, and if I do, I want to give it everything I have.
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What can you tell us about your upcoming projects?
"Red Flag" is my most recent acting project, and last year I was part of the Emirati series "33." On the writing side, I'm working on the series I mentioned, the first one I'm writing entirely by myself. Hopefully there's more acting news to share soon.
Photo Credit: Seif Zahran&rsquo;s official page

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