Hiam Abbass

Hiam Abbass (Mouna) was born in Nazareth. She studied photography in Haïfa and theatre in Jerusalem where she worked mainly on stage with different theatre troupes until she left her country in 1988. After a stay in London she settled in Paris, where her acting career in cinema began. She worked early on in French and Middle Eastern movies.

Her feature credits include, "Azur Et Asmar, Free Zone" (co-staring with Natalie Portman), "Désengagement" (with Juliette Binoche), "Aime Ton Pére" (with Gérard Depardieu), "Haïfa" (with Mohammed Bakri), "Dialogue Avec Mon Jardinier" (with Daniel Auteuil), "Vivre Au Paradis, L'Ange Du Goudron" by the Quebequois Denis Chouinard, "Satin Rouge, The Syrian Bride" by Eran Riklis, for which she was nominated for a European Film Award, "Munich, The Nativity Story," and the Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee "Paradise Now." Soon, she'll be seen in Eran Riklis' "Lemon Tree, La Fabrique Des Sentiments" (with Elsa Zylberstein), "Un Roman Policier" (with Olivier Marshal), and "Kandisha" (with David Carradine and Saïd Tagmaoui). She just finished shooting Rie Rasmussen's movie "Romance In The Dark."

She worked as an acting coach on "Munich, Babel" by Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu, "The Nativity Story, The Diving Bell" and "The Butterfly" by Julian Schnabel, often helping children and other first-time actors to access their emotions for the camera.

Abbass has also written and directed two short films, "Le Pain" (2000) and "La Danse Eternelle" (2003).