Lina Soualem is a Palestinian-French filmmaker, journalist, and actress.

Early life and education

Soualem was born in Paris, the daughter of actors Hiam Abbas and Zinedine Soualem[1] and sister of actress Mouna Soualem. She is of Palestinian descent on her mother's side and Algerian descent on her father's. Her maternal grandmother and great-grandmother were displaced from Tiberias during the Nakba.[2] Soualem's mother would speak Palestinian Arabic at home, and the family regularly holidayed in Auvergne and Palestine.[3]

Soualem studied History and Political Science at Paris-Sorbonne University.[4]

Career

Soualem began her career as a journalist[5] and acted in her mother's film Inheritance (2012)[6] and Rayhana Obermeyer's I Still Hide to Smoke (2016).[7] She voiced Yassar in the 2018 Norwegian animated film The Tower and then featured in Hafsia Herzi's You Deserve a Lover the following year.[8]

During this time, Soualem worked on her directorial debut and first documentary Their Algeria on her Algerian paternal grandparents and their immigration journey to France in the 1950s.[9][10] She then served as a story editor and researcher on the 2022 Disney+ series Oussekine.[11]

Soualem's second documentary Bye Bye Tiberias explores her own mother Hiam Abbas' background and family history as she left her Palestinian village to pursue an acting career before returning.[12][13] Both Their Algeria and Bye Bye Tiberias depict "painful history" and its generational effects on families.[14] Bye Bye Tiberias opened at the 2023 Venice Film Festival to critical acclaim.[15] The film received a number of accolades, including a César Award nomination, in addition to being the Palestinian submission for the Academy Award for Best International Film.[16]

Soualem will direct her first fiction feature film titled Alicante, starring her sister Mouna.[17]

Filmography

Filmmaking credits

Year Title Director Writer Other Notes
2020 Their Algeria (French: Leur Algérie) Yes Yes Cinematographer Documentary
2022 Oussekine No Story editor Researcher 4 episodes
2023 Bye Bye Tiberias Yes Yes Additional cinematography, sound recordist Documentary
TBA Alicante

Acting credits

Year Title Role Notes
2003 La Légende de Parva Indra Voice role
2012 Inheritance Alya
2016 I Still Hide to Smoke Meriem
2018 The Tower Yassar Voice role
2019 You Deserve a Lover Lina

References

  1. ^ Lopes, Catherine (11 October 2021). "« Leur Algérie » : un documentaire poignant de Lina Soualem tourné dans le Puy-de-Dôme". France 3 (in French). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ Al-Dujaili, Dalia (28 June 2024). "With Bye Bye Tiberias, Lina Soualem is taking back her family's legacy". A Rabbit's Foot. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  3. ^ Duponchel, Marilou (15 February 2024). "Lina Soualem : « On peut être attachée à une tradition familiale et avoir un désir de liberté »". Trois Couleurs (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  4. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (5 May 2020). "Lina Soualem • Réalisatrice de Leur Algérie". CinEuropa (in French). Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Lina Soualem". The Funambulist Magazine. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  6. ^ Ashby, Chloë (20 April 2023). "How a 'Succession' Actress's Daughters Joined the Family Business". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  7. ^ Witherspoon, James (26 October 2017). "I Still Hide to Smoke". Era Journal. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  8. ^ Weissberg, Jay (2 June 2019). "Cannes Film Review: 'You Deserve a Lover'". Variety. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  9. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (29 April 2020). "Review: Their Algeria". CinEuropa. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  10. ^ Gbadamassi, Falila (13 October 2021). "Lina Soualem rend audible une histoire algérienne "pleine de silence" dans "Leur Algérie"". France TV Info (in French). Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  11. ^ Desroches, Thomas (13 May 2022). "Oussekine sur Disney+ : comment est née la série... après 36 ans de silence". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  12. ^ Aftab, Kaleem (23 October 2020). "It's a Family Affair as Lina Soualem Presents Docs About Hiam Abbas and Zinedine Soualem at El Gouna". Variety. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  13. ^ Adnan, M.Z. (19 March 2024). "Lina Soualem's new documentary pieces together a puzzle of Palestinian family history". Hyphen. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  14. ^ Akerman, Iain (13 November 2020). "Family affairs: Lina Soualem's success story". Arab News. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  15. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (27 July 2023). "Venice's Giornate Degli Autori Unveils 20th Edition Line-Up; Featuring Surprise Short From Céline Sciamma & Jean-Marc Vallée Tribute". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  16. ^ Khoury, Gilles (24 February 2024). "Lina Soualem: 'Bye Bye Tiberias,' it's through words that Palestinians survive". L'Orient Today. Retrieved 4 March 2025.(subscription required)
  17. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (5 December 2024). "Lina Soualem on Transitioning From Docs to Feature Filmmaking With Drama 'Alicante' That Will Star Her Sister Mouna Soualem". Variety. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Soualem
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