Hiam Abbass is best known for her work acting in films such as Babel, Miral, Paradise Now, Munich and The Visitor. Often cited as the best Palestinian actor working in film today, Abbass has now made the move into directing. Her debut feature film, Inheritance, about a Palestinian family from Galilee who gather to celebrate the wedding of one of their daughters and all the problems that result from this, was recently screened at the Venice International Film Festival. Abbass both directs the film and stars in it.
Why have you chosen to step behind the camera?
I made two short films previously and ever since I've wanted to direct a feature. But I was writing and acting at the same time and nothing was right until this project came along, written by Ala Hlehel, a Syrian writer from Israel. Although, the script was more a comedy and before I agreed to direct it, I felt like I needed to personalise it in a way that would mean it was a story I could connect with.
It's a family drama revolving around a wedding. What was it about the family dynamic that drew you in?
I grew up in a very big family in an environment where I think my life didn't really belong to just me, it belonged to everybody. Growing up, I was seeing their problems, their conflicts and their whatever. So when the script arrived, it had this family dynamic and that was really the very charming point for me … because it felt really very much part of what I know and what I lived growing up.
There is an unspecified war happening in the background, and in the narrative, every character seems to be in the midst of their own personal war. Is that correct?
Absolutely. That is really the story, this is how I personalised the writing of the script; I wanted everybody to have their own war inside this bigger war.
Why do you think there are so many female stories coming from the Middle East?
I'm a woman, what can I do? I don't like to split the sexes when it comes to artistic work. I think everyone contributes what they have to contribute. In any case, I don't have the distance to look at my work as part of a greater whole. I just have to do what I can do as an artist and express what I want to talk about.
The film is set in a region that you grew up in, on the border of Israel and Lebanon. What is it about this region that fascinates you?
I don't know. I think as a first feature, it's something that I really connected with. I wanted to start there because, although I've not been living there for the past 25 years, I always go back there for work and my parents and all my family are living there, so it's my way of staying connected to them. Today I live in an Occidental society … I'm just like the protagonist in the film, with two identities.
Why did you include an English character in the film? He seems to be the outsider who doesn't understand the dynamic of the Palestinian family.
He is, but I think how you best see your own traditions and how they affect you is when you go to the opposite side. I had a story myself with an English man when I was living in my parents' house and in a way I thought that this was the biggest fight in my life, bringing in someone who is so different, who had a different language, culture and religion. It was the biggest thing I could do to prove that no matter how different someone is from you, if you can still connect with them, then it means there is something in the spirit that connects human beings together.
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Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
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BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Turkey - because the government look after animals so well there.
Favourite film: I love scary movies. I have so many favourites but The Ring stands out.
Favourite book: The Lord of the Rings. I didn’t like the movies but I loved the books.
Favourite colour: Black.
Favourite music: Hard rock. I actually also perform as a rock DJ in Dubai.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
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2019 ASIA CUP POTS
Pot 1
UAE, Iran, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
Pot 2
China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar, Thailand
Pot 3
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, India, Vietnam
Pot 4
North Korea, Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Turkmenistan
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia