Hiam Abbass says starring in the epic ‘Palestine 36’ was a ‘duty’
Palestinian actor Hiam Abbass spoke Sunday about the “duty” of starring in films like Annemarie Jacir’s “Palestine 36” during an in-depth career discussion alongside Italian actor Valelria Golino (“Rain Man”) at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The “Succession” star said participating in the historical film felt like “a duty” when “Palestinian history is in danger of being erased and forgotten every day.”
“When you are born into a struggle, sometimes in a certain way you don’t make the difference between the artistic and the sense of duty. And [‘Palestine 36’] is one of the examples.” Abbass cited another recent example in “Bye Bye Tiberias,” directed by her daughter Lina Soualem, which explored Abbass’ life after her departure from Palestine. “For me, both films are almost a visit to the history I have inherited.”
‘Palestine 36’ premiered last year at the Toronto Film Festival and is set in the year 1936 in a Palestinian village that rebels against British colonial rule. In his Variety In the review, Murtada Elfadl praised the historical epic: “It is grand in scope, ambitious in its storytelling, and balanced in the way it pays equal attention to historical scope and detailed characterization. Palestine’s entry into the Oscars has a lot to tell, but still manages to uniquely highlight its many characters and give specificity to its various locations.”
Abbass met Jacir on the set of “Ramy,” adding that the two “enjoyed each other’s creativity.” When the director expressed his desire to collaborate, the actor quickly said she was up for whatever she brought to her table.
“Just participating in that film was important to all of us [who were a part of it]” she continued, speaking about “Palestine 36.” “It was very important to record the archives of Palestinian history forever in a film that will, in a sense, become a future archive.”
Courtesy of the Toronto Film Festival
The film was a notoriously difficult production. Jacir and her team had built a sprawling, complex set for the shoot in Palestine, with photography scheduled to begin on October 14, 2023. After war broke out on October 7, production was obviously halted and then postponed several times before finally moving to Jordan where they shot the film in late 2024.
“We were like, what do we do? We wait a day, two days, three days, two weeks… No one knows what’s happening,” Abbass recalls. “They decided to hold on for a month or two, and it got worse and worse. The village they had built became a target for the West Bank settlers, and it became too risky to bring people back. It was impossible, even in terms of insurance.”
The actor opened up about the logistical nightmare of attempting to fly from her home in Paris to Jordan for the shoot, especially as tensions increased in the region. For months, Abbass prepared to shoot, only to find out it wouldn’t be possible. “I fought to be on set. It was a victory to finally be able to make this movie. Suddenly you notice that everyone involved in that movie just thinks and feels the same. [I had] never experienced such a victory [my] artistic life or any other work in which I have been involved. This is actually an example of how to survive. It’s more than an artistic choice when it comes to those types of films.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Abbass spoke about her career as a director, which began in 2001 with the short film “Le Pain.” Her 2012 directorial debut, “Inheritance,” played in Venice, and she then directed for television with “Ramy.”
“It came out of a kind of necessity,” she said of the urge to direct. “I left Palestine, went to London and settled in Paris because of a love story. Then I became a mother, because it was very important for me to spend time on that too. I really thought that as a mother, as a woman, I really have things to say. How long can you sit around and wait for the role to come to you when you have so much to say about life?”
To this day, Abbass has directed only one feature film. Does she have future plans for a second attempt? “I don’t have time,” she said. “Acting didn’t give me the opportunity to sit down and write and create, and I didn’t want to just do it. I have a few stories lined up, but I’m in no rush.”
