Saudi actress Fatima Al-Banawi named new Middle East ambassador for Cartier

The French jewellery house unveiled its latest high jewellery collection, entitled Sixieme Sens par Cartier, at a star-studded gala hosted by Cyrille Vigneron, president and chief executive Cartier International in Lake Como in Italy over the weekend.

Al-Banawi was part of a VIP guest list that included Italian supermodel Mariacarla Boscono, Egyptian actress Yasmine Sabry and Lebanese filmmaker and actress Nadine Labaki, among others.

The bash included a gala dinner at the stunning Villa Làrio for which guests wore their glittering best.

Al-Banawi opted for a black-and-white sleeveless gown from Lebanese couturier Zuhair Murad.

The actress and filmmaker follow in the footsteps of other Cartier ambassadors, including Sabry, who was the first Middle Eastern ambassador for the French luxury jewellery house.

The multi-hyphenate studied Psychology at Jeddah’s Effat University and then went to pursue her master’s degree in Theological Studies at Harvard.

She first gained prominence for her role in the 2016  drama “Barakah Meets Barakah.”

She also starred in Egyptian Netflix series “Paranormal.”

In 2020, she directed her first short film “Until We See Light.” That same year, she co-wrote, co-directed and starred in “Al-Shak,” a Shahid Original series, which she shot fully from home during the pandemic. 

Now, Al-Banawi is working on her first feature screenplay, “Basma.”

Apart from directing films, she is also a well-known storyteller from Saudi Arabia. 

She founded “The Other Story Project,” a storytelling project that collects handwritten life stories by the people of Jeddah and turns them into creative productions, including the short film “A Blink of an Eye.”