Hiam Abbass

Abbass was born in Nazareth, Israel on 30 November 1960 to a family of Israeli Arabs of Palestinian descent.{{cite web |url=https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/palestinian-actress-hiam-abbass-in-my-artistic-work-what-i-am-doing-must-connect-to-who-i-am-1.871487 |title=Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass: ‘In my artistic work, what I am doing must connect to who I am’ |first=David |last=D'Arcy |website=The National |access-date=9 June 2024 |date=6 June 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.israel21c.org/16-arabs-from-israel-making-a-difference-on-the-world-stage/ |title=16 Arabs from Israel making a difference on the world stage |access-date=9 June 2024 |date=30 January 2017 |website=Israel21C}} She was raised in the village of Deir Hanna. Since the late 1980s, she has lived in Paris, France,{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/feb/16/hiam-abbass-interview-succession-ramy-complex-women|title = 'People want imperfection': Hiam Abbass on Succession, Ramy and playing complex women|website = TheGuardian.com|date = 16 February 2021|first=Hannah J |last=Davies |access-date=9 June 2024}} and holds French citizenship.

During the filming of the Steven Spielberg film Munich (2005), Abbass lived in a hotel with Israeli and Palestinian actors for three months. During that time, they had many discussions that "helped both sides grow closer." In an interview in 2006, Abbass said, "I still remember how difficult it was for the Arab actors to manhandle the Israeli actors in the first scene where the Israeli national team is taken hostage."

Abbass is known for her roles in Red Satin (2002), Haifa (1996), Paradise Now (2005), The Syrian Bride (2004), Free Zone (2005), Dawn of the World (2008), The Visitor (2008), Lemon Tree (2008), Every Day Is a Holiday (2009), and Amreeka (2009). She appeared in Spielberg's film Munich, depicting the response to the Munich massacre, and also served as a dialect and acting consultant.

She directed two short films, Le Pain (2001), and La Danse éternelle (2004). She portrays humanitarian Hind al-Husseini in Julian Schnabel's film Miral (2010), based on the life of Husseini and her orphanage.

In 2002, she appeared in Satin Rouge by Raja Amari, a film about the self-discovery of a middle aged Tunisian widow.{{cite web |last1=Schwarzbaum |first1=Lisa |title=Satin Rouge |url=https://ew.com/article/2002/09/04/satin-rouge/ |website=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=9 June 2024 |date=September 4, 2002}} She also a similar role in The Syrian Bride, about a Druze woman eager to break down barriers.

Abbass appeared in the French films Le sac de farine and Le temps de la balle.

In 2008, she played the mother of an illegal Syrian immigrant in Tom McCarthy's movie The Visitor, and the mother of an Iraqi soldier in Abbas Fahdel's film Dawn of the World.

In the same year she could be seen in Pomegranates and Myrrh as Umm Habib, the owner of a beleaguered café.

Also in 2008, she played the principal role in Israeli director Eran Riklis's film Lemon Tree (Etz Limon in Hebrew). For this role, she won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In Jim Jarmusch's 2009 film The Limits of Control, in the role of Driver, she recites in Classical Arabic one of the film's leitmotif-phrases, "He who thinks he is bigger than the rest must go to the cemetery. There he will see what life really is."

Abbass also appears in A Bottle in the Gaza Sea (2011), a French-Israeli film produced by Thierry Binisti. It is based upon the young adult novel Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza by Valérie Zenatti. She plays the role of Naïm's mother.

In 2012, she was named as a member of the Jury for the Main Competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/article/58948.html |title=The Jury of the 65th Festival de Cannes |access-date=2012-04-25 |work=festival-cannes.com |publisher=Cannes Film Festival |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524235524/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/article/58948.html |archive-date=2012-05-24 }} She made her directorial feature film debut with The Inheritance in 2012.

In 2017, she played Freysa, the head of the replicant freedom movement, in Blade Runner 2049.

Abbass has also acted in TV shows such as The Promise (2011), The State (2017), Succession (2018–2023), and Ramy (2019–present).

In 2023, Abbass starred in the documentary film Bye Bye Tiberias which follows her decision to pursue her dream of becoming actress, directed by her daughter, Lina Soualem.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/global/lina-soualem-hiam-abbas-zinedine-soualem-their-algeria-1234814135/|title=It's a Family Affair as Lina Soualem Presents Docs About Hiam Abbas and Zinedine Soualem at El Gouna|website=Variety|first=Kaleem|last=Aftab|date=23 October 2020|access-date=12 August 2023}} It premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival and screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2023/07/venice-giornate-degli-autori-2023-line-up-1235449196/|title=Venice's Giornate Degli Autori Unveils 20th Edition Line-Up; Featuring Surprise Short From Céline Sciamma & Jean-Marc Vallée Tribute|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Melanie|last=Goodfellow|date=27 July 2023|access-date=12 August 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://tiff.net/events/bye-bye-tiberias|title=Bye Bye Tiberias|website=Toronto International Film Festival|access-date=12 August 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/festivals/tiff-docs-toronto-louis-c-k-paul-simon-thom-powers-1235680304/|title=Docs About Louis C.K., Paul Simon and a Whole Foods Dishwasher Who Moonlights as a Mountain Climber Are Among Those Going to Toronto This Year|website=Variety|first=Addie|last=Morfoot|date=26 July 2023|access-date=12 August 2023}}

• List of Arab citizens of Israel

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|7814|Hiam Abbass}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071020043912/http://g21.net/nystate61.htm G21 Interview: Hiam Abbass], by Brad Balfour
• [http://www.christianvagt.com/portraits/film/abbass/hiam_abbass.html Photos of Hiam Abbass at Berlin Film Festival 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211185724/http://www.christianvagt.com/portraits/film/abbass/hiam_abbass.html |date=11 February 2012 }}

{{Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Actress}}

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Category:1960 births

Category:Israeli Arab actors

Category:Living people

Category:Palestinian film actresses

Category:People from Nazareth

Category:Palestinian television actresses

Category:Asia Pacific Screen Award winners

Category:Ophir Award winners