Bye Bye Tiberias
Qumra Screenings - Qumra 2024
Lina Soualem / France, Palestine, Belgium, Qatar / 2023 / 82 min / Colour / DCP / In Arabic, French / Arabic, English subtitles
Themes: Documentary
Rated: 
Mature subject matter. Not suitable for minors. Individuals under the age of 18 are not admitted into cinemas.
Description
In her early twenties, Hiam Abbas left her native Palestinian village to follow her dream of becoming an actress in Europe, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and seven sisters. Thirty years later, her filmmaker daughter Lina returns with her to the village and questions for the first time her mother’s bold choices, her chosen exile, and the way the women in their family influenced both their lives. Set between past and present, ‘Bye Bye Tiberias’ pieces together images of today, family footage from the nineties and historical archives to portray four generations of daring Palestinian women who keep their story and legacy alive through the strength of their bonds despite exile, dispossession, and heartbreak.
Director
Lina Soualem
Lina Soualem is a French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker and actress born and based in Paris. She pursued her education in history and political science at La Sorbonne University. Following her studies, she began her career as a programmer for the International Human Rights Film Festival in Buenos Aires. Lina’s debut feature documentary, ‘Their Algeria’, premiered at the Visions du Réel International Film Festival in 2020. The documentary garnered acclaim, receiving the First Film Award at the CINEMED Montpellier International Festival of Mediterranean Film, the Best Arab Documentary Award at the El Gouna Film Festival, and the Best Documentary Award at the Cinemania Film Festival, among a dozen other accolades. As an actress, Lina has appeared in three feature films directed by notable filmmakers Hafsia Herzi, Hiam Abbass, and Rayhana. Her second documentary film, ‘Bye Bye Tiberias’, debuted at the Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023. It was also nominated to represent Palestine at the Oscars 2024. Currently, Lina is engaged in writing fiction films, documentaries, and TV series, including contributing to the writing room of the series ‘Oussekine’ on Disney+
Credits
- Screenwriter
- Lina Soualem, Nadine Naous, Gladys Joujou
- Producer
- Jean Marie-Nizan
- Cinematographer
- Frida Marzouk
- Editor
- Gladys Joujou
- Music
- Amine Bouhafa