Alshaima’a Tayeb

Alshaima’a Tayeb is one of those names that keeps popping up in the more interesting corners of contemporary cinema—especially if you’re paying attention to films that actually try something new. Her latest, “From the Ashes” (2024), is just the latest proof. The film drags you straight into a world that feels both hauntingly real and slightly surreal, like you’re half-awake and wandering through someone else’s memories. Tayeb doesn’t shy away from heavy themes—grief, resilience, people clawing their way out of the rubble, literally and metaphorically. Her character isn’t just a victim of circumstance; she’s fighting, sometimes stubbornly, sometimes desperately, to find her own place in the mess left behind. But if you’ve seen “Amra and the Second Marriage” (2018), you know she can twist humor and heartbreak together like nobody’s business. That movie is this wild, almost biting look at what happens when life throws you curveballs—family expectations, love, the whole deal. Tayeb’s performance? She’s got this knack for being both hilarious and devastating in the same scene, which is honestly rare. She brings that same unpredictability to “Kaboos” (2023), where reality and nightmare blend until you’re not sure what’s actually happening. It’s a psychological maze, and Tayeb’s right in the thick of it, making you question what’s real and what’s just fear doing its thing. Overall, her filmography is gutsy, never dull, and always a little unpredictable—just how I like it.