DUBAI: French Palestinian Algerian filmmaker and actress Lina Soualem’s much-hyped documentary feature “Bye Bye Tiberias” will screen in the Documentary Competition section of the 67th BFI London Film Festival, set to take place from Oct. 4 – 15, 2023.
Soualem’s feature captures the stories passed on by four generations of Palestinian women in her family, one of whom is her mother Hiam Abbass, the actor whose credits include “Succession,” “Ramy,” “Inheritance” and “Munich.”
Soualem accompanies her mother and questions her choices as Abbass returns to her native Palestinian village 30 years after she left in her early twenties to follow her dream of becoming an actress in Europe, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and seven sisters.
“By making this film, I follow the same path as the women in my family. I continue what they have started,” said Soualem in a statement. “In fact, passing on our story has always been central. It is through storytelling that we break free.
“With our words, we fight against erasure. That is why I feel a constant urge to share these stories. To seize them before they vanish into oblivion, to preserve the images of a world rapidly disappearing. Images that stand as proof of a denied existence.”
“Bye Bye Tiberias” is also showing at the Venice Film Festival and will then travel to the Toronto International Film Festival for its North American premiere.
