Interview with Sulafa Memar

Persistence.  Efforts. Research.  Self-discovery. These are the words that Sulafa Memar chooses to describe the acting profession, and the Syrian star has excelled in this field for twenty years. Adored by millions of fans across the Arab world, she leaves nothing to chance. Professional to the end, nothing escapes her magnificent blue eyes. If she chose English Literature as a field of study at university, it just sharpened her passion for theater and her artistic sensitivity: "Since my early childhood, I loved watching plays, and at the age of 16, I realized that I felt like a rush of adrenaline every time I attended a play.’’  

Her first role?  It was in 1994, in the series “A 5-star family”.  Although it was a secondary role, Sulafa's innate talent quickly attracted directors and producers, propelling her as early as 2001 in the elite club of Arab stars, with her role in the historic masterpiece "Salah Al-deen Al  -Ayyobi ”. To date, she has starred in over 40 TV series and 3 films, making her an unmissable name on the Arab scene. When asked to share with us what she likes and what she hates in the acting profession, her answer is frank and simple: "The positive side of this job is that it allows us to live several lives, via the characters we play. On the other hand, acting takes a lot from us and from our lives as human beings.’’ 
 

Sulafa and love

Discreet and distant, the Syrian star says little or nothing about her personal life. If we know that she married Syrian actor and director Seif Al Din Subayee in 2002, that they had a baby girl in 2006, and that the marriage ended in divorce in 2012, her personal life will remain a mystery ever since. For her, "Love is everywhere, and no human being can live without love. Everyone is constantly looking for love in every detail of their life.’’ A statement as spiritual as it is enigmatic.

Regrets

Sulafa Memar does not like this word.  She considers that each person, at every moment of their life, is led to make a decision, and the latter is dictated by the very moment.  “When you are an actor, and especially at the start of your career, you obviously lack experience in choosing roles, and you can say yes to a project in order to please a production company or in the hope of  getting a better role later. Personally, this has happened to me only once, and I consider that to be part of the path that any actor takes in any country in the world.’’  

Pride

The role that marked her the most was that of Ward in the TV series "Qalam Humra" in 2014. "The character of Ward left a lot of traces in me, whether during filming or even months later. For those who do not know, Sulafa embodied, in this series, the character of a woman writer living in Damascus, in the midst of war, and who finds herself locked in a political prison.  This emotional and powerful role earned the actress the Best Actress award at the 2015 Beirut International Awards Festivals (BIAF).  
 

 

Projects and dreams 

Work on oneself never ends with Sulafa Memar.  Despite regional success and consecration, she wants more, and she wants better.  "I’m trying to open up to new horizons, I want to get out of the framework in which the film industry is trying to lock me up.  I know this is very hard to achieve in the current environment, but I will continue to try to get there." A dream? "Share the screen with Meryl Streep, just to see how she works. She's my idol.’’  

The Arab Feminist woman

Sulafar Memar, is a discreet, quiet force, but present. “I would like to tell the Arab woman that our road is still long, very long.  And difficult. We have to work on ourselves, as women, because the social rules around us are stronger than us, even though there are more and more women who break them and succeed. Let us be strong and determined to continue this path. "