Hatim Abdelghafour: A Young
Actor and Leader
Hatim Abdelghafour is a young Moroccan artist who has achieved
success on the world stage. Originally from Kelaa Sraghna, this young actor and leader has performed in
various international works such as the Syrian TV series “Molouk
Attawaeif” and “Sakr Qouraich”, the Canadian film “Section 753.2” , and the Spanish film
“Un Burka Por Amor”. He is
also very active in the world of associations and has received an Award for
Human Development from the United Nations Development Programme. Yacout Info talked to him about his career both as
an actor and a young leader.
Yacout Info: When did you
start as an actor?
Hatim Abdelghafour : When I was
in High School I used to do sketches with a friend of mine called Walid Lagnaoui. We
were amateurs and I wasn’t taking art seriously. After High
School, I worked in the theatre in Rabat and
specialised in English Literature at Cadi Ayyad University
in Marrakech. During my university studies I started to take part in artistic
clubs just as a hobby and performed in various plays such as “The Tragedy of
Death and Love” by Hassan el Mashnaoui and “Air of
Time” by Amin Azadi. Later,
I used to go to the “Institut Français”
and joined the Association of Young Artists. I benefited from various
acting techniques on how to monitor the body, looks, voice, gestures, and
presence on stage. That was the beginning of my professional life as an actor.
Yacout Info: You
performed in Theatre, Cinema, TV and Radio. Which is most important to you?
Hatim Abdelghafour : For an
actor, each one of these has its own attractions. I see myself more in Cinema
because it gives artists fame and more opportunities to develop their careers.
It also gives a respectable income as opposed to theatre which has many
financial difficulties, especially in
Yacout Info: Ten
years later you performed in the Canadian movie “Section
Hatim Abdelghafour : While in
Yacout Info: Apart
from acting, you are also active in social work and you received the Award for
Human Development from the UNDP. How did you receive this award?
Hatim Abdelghafour : I was a
Moroccan delegate in the 2nd Pan-African Summit of Youth Leadership which was
held in 2005 at Al Alkhawayn University. I received
the Award for my human development project which I presented at the event. I
developed this project with the Grand Atlas Association of which I am a member.
The project was the idea of the Association, but I was given the opportunity to
develop it. It’s about bee keeping and rabbits raising
and it targets women in rural areas and has as an aim to help these women
become independent with a personal income. This is also the same project with
which I took part in the 4th World Youth Congress in
COMPREHENSION
1. Complete the following table with the necessary information about Hatim from the text.
Name |
|
Origin |
|
Movies Series Plays |
|
Award |
|
School/ University |
|
2. Answer the following questions in your own words as far as possible.
a. When did Hatim Abdelghafour
start his acting career?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
b. What was Hatim’s first work?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
c. What is Hatim’s last work?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Circle a, b, or c, in each question below. Only one choice is
correct.
@ Hatim’s professional life
as an actor started…
a) Before he joined the Association of Young
Artists.
b) After he joined the Association of Young
Artists.
c) Three years before he joined the Association of Young Artists.
@ According Hatim, an
actor or director who has no experience in theatre will…
a) Be successful in his career.
b) Never achieve success.
c) Be a famous person.
@ Hatim went primarily to
a) Participate in the
4th World Youth Congress
b) To brush up his acting talents.
c) To study English.
@ Hatim received the
Award for Human
Development
from the UNDP because of …
a) His artistic works.
b) His human development project.
c) His last movie.
@ Hatim’s human
development project is about…
a) Dropping out of school.
b) Bee keeping and rabbits rising.
c) Illiteracy.
@
To realize his project, Hatim…
a) Has found help from Human Development
organization and associations.
b) Has found no help.
c) Has received financial help from
the state.
5. Match the following words with their definitions
Word |
|
Definition |
1. leader |
a) 1) (someone who has) a natural
ability to be good at something, especially without being taught |
|
2. amateur |
b) 2) money that is earned from doing
work or received from investments |
|
3. monitor |
c) 3) a person in control of a group,
country or situation |
|
4. income |
d) 4) a person who takes part in an
activity for pleasure, not as a job |
|
5. talents |
e) 5) to watch and check a situation
carefully for a period of time in order to discover something about it |
|
6. urge |
f) 6) money needed or available to
spend on something |
|
|
g) 7) to strongly advise or try to
persuade someone to do a particular thing |
|
|
h) 8) the power or opportunity to act
or take charge before others do |
|
|
i) 9) aim. |
6. What do the underlined in the text refer to?
- Him :…….……….…………
- I :………………….….…