Nisreen Faour (; born August 2, 1972) is a Palestinian actress, best known for her role as Muna in the 2009

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

film, ''

Amreeka ''Amreeka'' is a 2009 independent film written and directed by first-time director Cherien Dabis. It stars Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Joseph Ziegler, and Miriam Smith. ''Amreeka'' documents th ...

''. Faour was born in

Ma'alot-Tarshiha Ma'alot-Tarshiha (; ) is a city in the North District, Israel, North District in Israel, about east of Nahariya, and about Above mean sea level, above sea level. The city was established in 1963 through a municipal merger of the Arab citizens of ...

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, and moved to the

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to study theater and performance when she was 16. She then came back home in order to study acting at the Kibbutzim College of Education in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

between 1991 and 1994, and later on directing at the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

. She has performed in a number of award-winning theatrical plays. She also appeared in Israeli films in arabic such as ''In the Eighth Month'', directed by Ali Nassar, ''Jamr Alhikaya'' (Whispering Embers) and ''The Savior''. Her television appearances include ''Family Deluxe'', as well as ''Mishwar Al-Joma''. Faour's performance as Muna Farah, a Palestinian immigrant to the United States in the 2009 independent film ''

'', received high marks from film critics. American film critic

Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...

argues that, while all of the casting choices "are excellent, ..it is Palestinian actress Nisreen Faour as the irrepressible Muna who truly owns the picture".

Awards

* 2009

Dubai International Film Festival The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF, ) was the largest film festival in the Arab world, Arab region. With particular emphasis on showcasing Arab cinema, Arab, Asian cinema, Asian, and African cinema, it also helped to develop industry a ...

- Won Muhr Award as Best Actress for ''

'' * 2010

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

- Nominated

Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead The Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead was one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding lead performance in an independent film. It was first presented in 1985 with Geraldine Page bei ...

- ''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faour, Nisreen Living people 1972 births Israeli film actresses Israeli stage actresses Israeli Arab actors Best Actress Muhr Award winners Kibbutzim College alumni