Today we’d like to introduce you to Malak Dabcha
Hi Malak, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was a New Yorker since my university years and never thought I’d move to LA. My family didn’t approve of my acting dreams, so I decided to study fashion and communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology and took acting classes at the Stella Adler Studio on the side, I modeled, I worked in fashion, I became a blogger and worked in social media. But when the pandemic came, I decided life was too short not to do what I love, and I finally got serious about being in film and television after focusing on theatre for years. That’s when I decided to move to LA where it felt like almost immediately, I booked a role on a Disney show. From there, I decided to give writing and directing a shot, and I was lucky enough for it to work out pretty quickly as well.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I could say that the most obvious struggle for me was my family’s rejection of the film industry. But in reality, the biggest struggle I’ve had to overcome was being the victim of an armed robbery as soon as I moved to LA. It threw me into a very serious depression for two years, where I could hardly even get out of bed to feed myself. It flipped my life upside down and took far too much time and energy to even begin to heal from. I thought my career was over because I just couldn’t bring myself to stay in LA, and I started running away and spending months at a time abroad. I was only finally able to start to get over it by making a movie about it, and in the process, I fell back in love with the city. My film, I Used to Love the Night, is about the grief, loneliness, and even guilt that comes with being the victim of a violent crime. It premieres on April 4th at the Chinese Theater during the Beverly Hills Film Festival. Very exciting!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
It’s funny. I always feel that I should pick a lane and only say I’m one thing. But the truth is that I am an actor, writer, and director, and I think they all go hand in hand. They’ve all always served each other in my life. When you’re first starting as an actor, you’re always waiting for someone to choose you. But writing and directing gave me an avenue to challenge my creativity into something I could be in control of. And sooner than I thought possible, I was making my own movies.
I wrote a feature film and pitched it in Cannes but couldn’t get the funding to make it because I hadn’t directed anything else, So I went and made a smaller budget film and went back the following year and finally got a producer attached. We start working on it in 2026. I’m most proud of my perseverance and being able to show other creatives that, as cliché as it sounds, if you work hard, keep pushing, and truly believe in what you’re doing, you WILL make it happen.
What’s next?
I’m excited about starting work on my feature. I’m also trying my hand at writing a collection of short stories I’m hoping to get published and I’m excited about staying open to work that feeds my creative hunger.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/malakdabcha
