A mere days after the release of the blockbuster Blue Elephant 2, in which she's played a starring role, Hend Sabri has been announced as a jury member at Venice Film Festival, one of the oldest in the field and dubbed one of the 'Big Three' film festivals the world over, alongside the Cannes and Berlin film festivals.

Running from August 28th to September 7th, Sabri will be joining the panel of judges in the 'Debut Work' category, which is to be headed by renowned Bosnian Filmmaker, Emir Kusturica, and also features Italian director, Antonieta Lilo.

As the news made the rounds, Sabri received praise from filmmakers and industry figures in Egypt and elsewhere, with Raya Abirachid congratulating her via Twitter, saying 'you deserve it'. Sabri released a statement expressing her pride in being the first Arab woman to be selected in the prestigious festival, hoping that she can act as an ambassador of the "Arab art scene at one of the world's biggest film festivals."

Main image by @MO4Network's #MO4Productions