Hiam Abbass ( ar, هيام عباس, he, היאם עבאס; born 30 November 1960), also Hiyam Abbas, is a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

actress and film director.

Personal life

Hiam Abbass was born in

Nazareth, Israel Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, to a

Muslim Arab Arab Muslims ( ar, العرب المسلمون) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Arabs. Arab Muslims greatly outnumber other ethnoreligious groups in the Middle East and North Africa. Arab Mu ...

family. She was raised in the village of

Deir Hanna Deir Hanna ( ar, دير حنا, he, דֵיר חַנָּא) is a local council in the Northern District of Israel, located on the hills of the Lower Galilee, southeast of Acre. In it had a population of . Approximately 90% of Deir Hanna's inha ...

. Since the late 1980s, she has lived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and holds French citizenship. During the filming of the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spi ...

film ''

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

'' (2005), Abbass lived in a hotel with the Palestinian Arab and Israeli 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."

Film career

Abbass is known for her roles in '' Red Satin'' (2002), ''

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...

'' (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). In Spielberg's film, depicting the response to the

Munich Massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two members ...

, she 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 Julian Schnabel (born October 26, 1951) is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his "plate paintings" — with broken ceramic plates set onto large-scale paintings. Since the 1990s, he has been ...

's film '' Miral'' (2010), based on the life of Husseini and her orphanage. In 2002, she appeared in ''

Satin Rouge ''Red Satin'' also known as ''Satin Rouge'' (french: Satin rouge) is a 2002 Tunisian Arabic-language women oriented drama film written and directed by Raja Amari on her feature film directorial debut. The film stars Palestinian actress Hiam Abba ...

'' by Raja Amari, a film about the self-discovery of a middle aged Tunisian widow. She also a similar role in ''The Syrian Bride'', about a

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings o ...

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''. Also in 2008, she played the principal role in Israeli director Eran Riklis's film '' Lemon Tree'' (''Etz Limon'' in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

). 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 ''The Limits of Control'' is a 2009 American film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Isaach de Bankolé as a solitary assassin, carrying out a job in Spain. Filming began in February 2008, and took place on location in Madrid, Seville ...

'', in the role of Driver, she recites in Classical Arabic one of the film's

leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglic ...

-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 ''A Bottle in the Gaza Sea'' (french: Une bouteille à la mer, fra-que, Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza) is a 2011 drama directed by Thierry Binisti. The film, an international co-production shot in French, Hebrew and Arabic, is based on the Fre ...

'' (2011), a French-Québecois-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 The 65th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition and British actor Tim Roth was the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard sectio ...

. She made her directorial feature film debut with '' The Inheritance'' in 2012. In 2017 she played Freysa, the head of the

replicant A replicant is a fictional bioengineered humanoid featured in the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'' and the 2017 sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' which is physically indistinguishable from an adult human and often possesses superhuman strength and intellig ...

freedom movement, in '' Blade Runner 2049''. Abbass has also acted in four TV shows: ''The Promise'' (2011), ''The State'' (2017), ''

Succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

'' (2018-present), and ''

Ramy Ramy is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Ramy Ashour (born 1987), Egyptian retired squash player * Ramy Ayach (born 1980), Lebanese singer * Ramy Bensebaini (born 1995), Algerian footballer * Ramy Essam (born 1987), Egyptian musician ...

'' (2019-present).

Filmography

Actress

Director

References

External links

*
G21 Interview: Hiam Abbass
by Brad Balfour

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbass, Hiam 1960 births Arab citizens of Israel Living people Israeli film actresses Palestinian film actresses People from Nazareth Israeli television actresses Palestinian television actresses Asia Pacific Screen Award winners