{"id":24717,"date":"2023-09-07T09:09:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T09:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/elyanna-announces-first-north-american-tour\/"},"modified":"2023-09-07T09:09:27","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T09:09:27","slug":"elyanna-announces-first-north-american-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=24717","title":{"rendered":"Elyanna announces first North American tour\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Saudi actress Joud Alsufyani on her new show \u2018Tahir\u2019s House\u2019 and her love of Korean culture\u00a0<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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\nDUBAI: The best comedy often mirrors real life. When the creators behind \u201cTahir\u2019s House,\u201d Saudi Arabia\u2019s first Netflix original comedy series, sat down to cast Azizah \u2014 the young daughter of the show\u2019s Jeddah-based family \u2014 they imagined a girl who in their estimation perfectly represented the next generation of Saudi women. She would be whip-smart and quick-witted, a born leader with a keen eye on the rest of the world. In casting Saudi actress and TikTok star Joud Alsufyani, they got closer than they could have dreamed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt honestly felt like Joud was born to play this part,\u201d the show\u2019s director Sultan Al-Abdulmohsen tells Arab News. \u201cWe really couldn\u2019t believe it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\nTikTok star\u00a0Joud Alsufyani in Netflix original comedy series\u00a0\u2018Tahir\u2019s House.\u2019 (Netflix)\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\nThe biggest shock came during the audition. In one scene, Alsufyani\u2019s Azizah was scripted to expound upon her love of Korean culture \u2014 its famed export K-pop in particular. Alsufyani was asked if she was familiar with the genre. In response, she began to speak Korean.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThey were shocked, but it\u2019s second nature for me now,\u201d Alsufyani laughs. \u201cAt home, half of what I say is Korean at this point. Even my mom will see me wandering to my room holding chopsticks and Korean noodles and ask, \u2018What happened to you, Joud?\u2019 I\u2019ll simply say to her, \u2018Sorry, Mom, but I\u2019m going to bed\u2019!\u201d Alsufyani says in Korean (translating for us after).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nAlsufyani is an encapsulation of the Jeddah Gen-Z set in more ways than just her predilection for Korean culture. While \u201cTahir\u2019s House,\u201d which debuted on Sept. 6 on the world\u2019s largest streaming platform, may be the moment that the 22-year-old becomes a breakout global star, she, like many of her talented peers, had already found a home for her creative talents on TikTok, where she\u2019s earned over 700,000 followers under the pseudonym Jay Starlit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nAs her profile began to rise online, her developing skills as an actor helped her manage the added attention her bedroom-created content was getting.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOn social media, you have to be strong, you have to be confident, and you have to portray a character that everyone is going to love and accept. Of course, there\u2019s always haters on social media, but acting taught me to avoid going crazy from it all,\u201d says Alsufyani.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBeing an actor taught me to talk differently, to react differently. Because of this, I can smile and power through without letting them know what I\u2019m actually feeling,\u201d she continues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nThose emotions don\u2019t bubble up underneath the surface when people criticize her personally, she explains. It\u2019s only when trolls come for those close to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI don\u2019t care if people comment about me. I care only about my family. They\u2019re my safe space, and I\u2019m so protective of them. If my mother is in a video with me, and someone speaks about her, that\u2019s not something I can let go of easily,\u201d says Alsufyani.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\nIt was her mother who supported her when Joud Alsufyani landed her first major role in \u2018The Inheritance.\u2019 (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\nThat dedication goes both ways. It was her mother who supported her when she landed her first major role in \u201cThe Inheritance,\u201d a Saudi soap opera. For two and a half years, Alsufyani traveled back and forth between Jeddah and Abu Dhabi to film, even having to live in the UAE for a long stretch due to the pandemic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMy mother was always behind me as I pursued this dream. I have a very strict father, so in the beginning he didn\u2019t want me to do it. But after three months he saw how quickly I was succeeding and was OK with it,\u201d says Alsufyani.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\nSaudi actress Joud Alsufyani in \u2018The Inheritance.\u2019 (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\nAs it is for nearly all young Saudis pursuing acting and filmmaking, the industry is uncharted territory for Alsufyani. As families grapple with the changes that rapid stardom can bring, young women like her are finding that their ability to express themselves in a public forum is empowering them in ways they couldn\u2019t have ever imagined before.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI feel like I\u2019m becoming so powerful,\u201d she says. \u201cBefore, nobody could hear my voice. It\u2019s huge for me to be able to put \u2018actress\u2019 before my name, especially in my generation. I\u2019m the first actor in my whole family.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nUnlike actors from previous generations, who were mainly influenced by Hollywood, Alsufyani was driven to pursue her passion more due to her fascination with Korean shows that fall under the globally popular K-drama tag, and have a rhythm and a style all their own.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI was 13 or 14 when I first started watching K-drama, and I was immediately obsessed. Initially, I learned the language just from watching these shows. I had to know everything that they were saying and I started looking things up and figuring it all out,\u201d says Alsufyani.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe acting style is totally different. In K-drama, they love to make everything extra \u2014 extra feeling, extra expression. They have a unique way of showing emotions on their face or with their hands, and I took all of that from them, both consciously and unconsciously. Even how they put their makeup has influenced me,\u201d she continues.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nKorean culture, too, has started to have a strong affect on Jeddah on the whole.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThere\u2019s now so many Korean tourists coming here, and a Korean restaurant started by a family who settled here from Seoul. It\u2019s great to see this exchange. It seems like there\u2019s a mutual affinity, and I love to see it,\u201d says Alsufyani.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI hope that one day I can go there, and act in a Korean drama. That would be my dream \u2014 I would love to be able to contribute to the shows I love so much,\u201d she adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nThe set of \u201cTahir\u2019s House\u201d was a wonderfully supportive environment, where Alsufyani was not only encouraged to share her love of the culture both on camera and off, but also allowed to grow as a performer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cEveryone there really cared about how everyone else was feeling. I really feel like they took me in and kept raising me. I grew as an actor, and I loved every minute of it,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nShe also discovered a new interest while she was on set: directing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI always was sitting with the director to figure out every decision he makes, learning about lighting, watching every take on the monitor. I was fascinated by all of it, and I realized I really want to try this myself,\u201d says Alsufyani.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nAs much as she loves Korean culture, as an aspiring filmmaker herself, she yearns to capture the beauty her first love: the city of Jeddah. She quotes a proverb that says that through thick and thin, Jeddah is always there. She wants to be there for the city \u2014 and its emerging talent \u2014 too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThere are so many actors here in Jeddah who haven\u2019t had their break yet, so I hope I can help create that, to show the world that a new generation of actors are coming,\u201d says Alsufyani.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI have so many things I want to do, and there\u2019s no one template I want to follow,\u201d she continues. \u201cI always say, \u2018Never have a role model.\u2019 In this life, you have to become your own role model.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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