Enas El Dighade: I separated from my husband out of boredom

Yesterday Egyptian director Enas El Dighade graced the talk show " Ana wel Assal," hosted by the Lebanese presenter Nishan, and opened up about some very personal and usually taboo subjects. Not surprisingly, she also talks about her relationship with taboo subjects and her legacy as a female director.

Dighade began the interview by agreeing with Nishan's remark that she shared some similarities with Egyptian feminist and writer Nawal el Saadawi, a longtime defender of human rights and women's rights. Dighade noted that there were some differences, and she sees herself as a bit more modern than the great intellectual.

She also pointed out that she's felt since her childhood she was different, particularly when she was compared to her sister. Early on she had an urge to break taboos. When Nishan then asked her if she still has this desire to break taboos, she said she doesn't necessarily see it as needing to break taboos, but as affirming the rights of women and the need for equality with men.

Enas then opened up about her marriage, saying the main reason for separating from her husband was boredom; their life had become very routine. Nishan asked whether boredom in general is what causes wives to seek divorce, to which Enas replied that she couldn't generalize, and that each marriage is its own particular situation. She added that she only decided to separate after her daughter had traveled abroad to complete her education.

Touching on her legacy in the industry, Enas said she didn't enjoy her acting career enough to consider returning to it after her first and only on-screen gig in the film " Afwah wa Aranib" (Mouths & Rabbits), which came out in 1977. In Dighade's view, acting is on a lower level than directing, in terms of creative control presumably, and that the director is the most important figure in an artistic work. Dighade considers herself and Nadia Hamza pioneer female directors, and that the female directors that preceded them are not representative of women's film and produced very weak films.

"Ana wel Assal" airs on Al Hayat and LBC at 10:30 PM. Tonight's guest star will be the Lebanese actress Nicole Saba.