Nabila Obeid Appeals to Egyptian Culture Minister: "Where Do I Put My History?"

SadaNews - Artist Nabila Obeid expressed her concern regarding the amendments to the old lease law, which could lead to her losing her apartment located on University of the Arab Nations Street in Cairo. She said that the apartment represents the archive of her artistic life and holds all her memories and awards.

According to what was reported by the Egyptian newspaper "Al-Shorouk", Nabila Obeid expressed her anxiety over the circulating news about amendments to the old lease law, indicating that she resides in her apartment under the old lease system.

She mentioned that the apartment contains all the belongings she used in her artistic works, stating: "This apartment is dear and precious to me, and it contains all the successes I have experienced throughout my life in cinema, starting from Rabaa Al-Adawiya to The Dancer and the Politician."

She added in her statements reported by "Al-Shorouk": "The apartment contains my clothes and magazines, it has the newspapers that wrote about me, and the places where I filmed, in artistic interviews I recorded there. Tell me, where do I put this history? Where do I put it? If something happened to me today, where would this history go? Where would all the awards be thrown?! Would they be sold at the Azbakeya Wall?"

She clarified that she was surprised by the widespread news about the old lease law, saying: "If the law is to be implemented now, where am I supposed to put all this history? Who will preserve it for me to present it in a strong and good manner?"

According to media reports, Nabila Obeid stated: "This house is my lucky charm; I released the song "Reader of the Coffee Cup" by Abdel Halim Hafez from it. I have neither married nor had children; this apartment is my whole life," urging that the apartment be turned into a museum to house all its contents instead of being lost.

The esteemed artist's statements came after the parliament's approval of implementing the old lease law.

The famous Egyptian artist made an urgent appeal to the Minister of Culture Dr. Ahmed Fouad Hennu, the President of the Actors' Syndicate Dr. Ashraf Zaki, and the President of the Cinematographers’ Syndicate Massad Foda, calling for the protection of this artistic heritage, expressing her hope to transform the apartment into a cultural site for her audience after her death.

Egyptian media reported the response of the artist Mounir Makram, a member of the Actors' Syndicate, to her appeal saying: "The syndicate has no relation; it’s a law, and the law is above everyone," pointing out that he himself lives in an old rental apartment and will be subject to the law like everyone else.

It is noteworthy that Nabila Obeid is one of the icons of Egyptian cinema, having presented more than 70 artistic works during her career spanning over five decades, starting her journey in the late sixties, and achieving wide fame through films like "Rabaa Al-Adawiya" (1963), "The Dancer and the Politician" (1990), and "Kashf Al-Mastoor" (1994), where she typically portrayed strong characters that reflect the features of Egyptian women.