Renowned Egyptian actor Ahmed Fahmy is making his way back onto small screens with his latest audiovisual venture, in which he takes on the leading role, expected to go live on Shahid, MBC’s own streaming service, on Aug. 25. Dubbed Safah El Gizeh, the miniseries, which is based on a true story, will mark his first foray into the genre of drama, with the 42-year-old actor portraying the very infamous Gaddafi Farag, also known as “The Butcher of Giza,” a notorious serial killer and fraudster responsible for the death of four innocent people between 2015 and 2017.
Directed by industry-acclaimed Hadi El Bagoury (Warda, 2014), the gut-wrenching story, which was penned by Emad Mattar and Injy Abouelseoud, is set to peel back the curtain on a never-seen-before side of one of Egypt’s most controversial criminals, calling on a cohort of local talent to paint the picture to the fullest of its chilling extent. With Fahmy’s versatile acting skills, his bold departure from his usual comedic roles will see Jordanian actress Rakeen Saad and Egyptian actors Bassem Samra and Salah Abdallah accompanying him on his journey depicting the now-imprisoned murderer, immersing the audience in a realm of performance that promises to be both compelling and emotionally charged.
What’s more, Safah El Gizeh will also mark producer El Waili’s second credit as composer on a television series, as the young Cairo-based DJ conceived the show’s theme song. Released in 2021, the collaboration between El Waili and rising local artist Samar Tarik, which has managed to generate over 300,000 listens on Spotify alone, was plucked from their respective catalogs to set the haunting and daunting tone of the program.
Earlier this year, El Waili celebrated his debut on small screens, having seen a few of his compositions be selected and used in hit Ramadan series El Harsha El Sabaa. Never on his own, and always well surrounded, in total, five tracks with El Waili’s signature sound made their way onto the show, opening a new chapter in his impressively young career behind decks.
With its gripping storyline, stellar cast, and unique blend of talents contributing to its creation, Safah El Gizeh is adamantly one of the shows to keep a close eye on this end-of-summer period. As the release date draws nearer, the hype surrounding the miniseries is bound to intensify, and can only be expected to grow in the days to come as it sheds light on one of the Arab World’s most curious of cases while it captures the attention of audiences within Egypt, the region, and beyond.
