At the 46th Cairo International Film Festival, a special session titled Live From Heartthrob to Icon offered an unusually candid look at the evolution of Khaled El Nabawy, this year&rsquo;s recipient of the Faten Hamama Excellence Award. The discussion highlighted key moments that shaped his artistic identity, from early mentorship to long-standing creative partnerships.
El Nabawy began by reflecting on his foundational years with the late filmmaker Youssef Chahine. Their work together on &lsquo;Al Mohager&rsquo; and &lsquo;Al Masir&rsquo; introduced him, he said, to a demanding world of filmmaking where every moment on set carried intentionality. Chahine&rsquo;s approach, defined by precise atmospheres, close attention to physical expression, and an almost musical sensitivity to performance, had a lasting influence on how El Nabawy understands the relationship between actors, the camera and the emotional space of a scene. Those experiences planted in him a commitment to detail that he continues to revisit decades later.
The conversation then turned to his own methodology. El Nabawy described discipline as the backbone of his craft, an expectation he sets for himself long before he enters a set. He spoke about the responsibility actors carry to arrive fully prepared, both mentally and physically, and to maintain complete control over their bodies during performance. For him, every gesture serves the character, not the actor, and every emotion must be expressed with clarity rather than kept internal. He framed acting as a collaborative effort, emphasizing that no individual performance can stand alone without the support and shared commitment of the team surrounding it.
A key part of his journey has been his partnership with director Kamla Abou Zekri, who attended the session. Their collaboration on the series Wahet El Ghorob remains one of the defining actor&ndash;director relationships in contemporary Egyptian drama. El Nabawy recalled the intensity of their process: long nights of preparation, daily conversations about character choices, and an insistence on refining even the smallest movements. Across the session, a portrait emerged of an actor shaped by discipline, mentorship, and creative synergy. El Nabawy&rsquo;s reflections offered a clear view of an artist who sees performance not as instinct alone, as a careful blend of preparation, precision and genuine emotion. As he accepted the Faten Hamama Excellence Award, audiences were reminded of a career anchored in dedication and of an actor who continues to influence Arab cinema through both his work and his unshaken approach to the craft.
Photo Credit: CIFF&rsquo;s official page

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