A woman who dared to dream big. A woman who created an industry for herself, when none existed. An intelligent, beautiful woman with an untiring spirit. That is what UAE filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja represents to those who know her. So when U.S. beauty brand Estée Lauder wanted to create their 'Reach for the Stars' campaign to celebrate female empowerment in the Region, Al Khaja was a natural fit.
The result is a spellbinding campaign by a beauty brand that has always celebrated, and represented phenomenal women. For 'Reach for the Stars', which launched just in time for the Holy Month of Ramadan, Estée Lauder worked hand in hand with Samira Al Khamis, one of Saudi Arabia's first ballerinas, Amna Al Qubaisi, the first Emirati female race-car driver and of course Nayla Al Khaja, UAE’s first film producer and director.
On her Instagram post pointing to this latest collaboration, Al Khaja wrote: "As years pass by I realize that instead of seeing my inner flame diminish it gets stronger with time. The more I fall the more I stand stronger, this has been a very blessed year and working with Estée Lauder has been sensational and the highlight of 2022. I'm heading to the Cannes film festival this year and I'm absolutely shooting for the stars hoping to catch more than one!"
In fact, we look forward to a special announcement from Al Khaja in Cannes, which we hear is about something big coming from the Emirati filmmaker.
When we asked her about the collaboration with Estée Lauder and why she chose to be a part of their 'Reach for the Stars' campaign, Al Khaja told us that "more than ever this is the year when women barge into the industry and I'm glad to be at the forefront representing my people and bringing untapped stories from the Gulf region. Dubai is famous but it needs feature films to capture its multi-faceted crystals and not the one that's constantly perceived. Among the skyscrapers there are lots of poignant, beautiful human stories dying to come out."
And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a phenomenal woman.
