TFC Hall of Fame: AUC Welcomes Kamel El Addad Crew

• By: Malak El Kadadi – Managing Features Editor

The Theatre and Film Club (TFC) delivered an event that was a raging success for both AUCians and the public when they hosted the cast and crew of Kamel El Addad (Full House), a hit Ramadan series that delves into the complexities of non- traditional family dynamics amidst personal challenges.

The event welcomed a full-house as attendees gathered to meet the panel of stars of the Hall of Fame — TFC’s signature event which hosts the cast and crew of popular TV shows and films.

The panel featured Kamel El Addad’s most popular actors, including lead Sherif Salama, Ahmed Gamal, and Youssef Gabriel among others, and was moderated by Communication and Media Arts (CMA) alumna Nala Kamel, who hosts her own show.

The audience’s sweeping enthusiasm was difficult to control. But Kamel had to take a few moments now and again to pause the talk and ask that the crowd tame their spirited chatter as she was unable to hear over their excitement.

But when Salama spoke of his on- screen wife played by Dina Elsherbiny, the audience was on their feet again.

“Dina Elsherbiny, honestly, I admire her,” Salama said. Salama then accepted a fan-art of Elsherbiny from a member of the audience, promising to deliver it to her.

Salama’s back-and-forth interaction with audience members, in particular with a devoted fanboy, continued to sustain the momentum of the event, shouting back declarations of love to his fans, welcoming their interruptions, and revealing his eccentric nature.

The audience also cheered and interrupted Gamal who plays Salama’s on-screen friend.

When series producer Wesam Seif Elislam connected with actress Badra on Facetime, he might have as well started a riot of applause and accolades.

As Kamel led the conversation, show writer Rana Abu Al Rish reassured the audience that a third season of Kamel El Addad was in the works.

MICT alumnus Youssef Gabriel, who plays the boyfriend to Salama’s on-screen daughter, took the mic and began to reveal behind-the-scenes bloopers and mistakes. He teasingly winked at other members of the cast – Jessica Hosameldein, Lina Sophia Benhamman, Hamza Diab, and Malek Emad.

Gabriel also reflected on his early days on set, particularly as a new character introduced in the second season. He said that he was initially terrified of Salama, who played his future father-in-law, due to the prominence of his character’s paternal quality even off-screen.

Emad, who plays timid, heartstruck teenager Farid shared that his favorite moments on set are the breaks spent between scenes with his on-screenstep brother, played by Diab. They would mimic food reviewers and even entertained the idea of starting a YouTube channel together to document their own culinary reviews.

Switching gears, Emad candidly revealed that he himself thinks he could have performed better in in his screentime, particularly in delivering a heartache scene courtesy of his on- screen crush.

As the panel headed to a closing, Kamel forfeited the classic Q&A session for insights and raw advice from the cast and crew to their audience.

Benhamman, who plays Emad’s sister on the show, confessed that prior to landing a lead role for Kamel El Addad, she had spent the last couple of years getting rejected from countless roles.

She then turned around, with her back to the audience to capture a video of the cheering fans: “This is something I have always wanted to do”.

In a sentimental parallel to the final scene of the show’s second season, the cast danced along to Gabriel’s rendition of the theme song.

A heartfelt ode was paid to their deceased co-star, Mostafa Darwish, by none other than child-actor, Younes Bassem, who was his on screen son. The crowd surged in praise at the young actor’s articulation of a mature concept.

The only moment of silence was achieved when the In Memoriam video of Darwish was played.

And as per TFC’s tradition the regularly given award was received by Elislam on Darwish’s behalf.

In a moment of gratitude to the audience, Director of Photography, Amr Farouk said: “The love you have for us is exactly the love we’ve exchanged between each other over the past two years.”

Khaled El-Halfawy, director of Kamel El Addad lowered his forehead to the ground, in a gesture of humility and thankfulness for the support.

“I didn’t know I was signing off on a new family, a family for me.”