Mohammad Bakri
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Bakri is an Israeli Arab actor and director, known throughout Israel and the Arab world
.
village of Bi'ina in North-West Israel in 1953. He went to elementary school in his hometown and received his secondary education in the nearby city of Acre. He studied acting and Arabic literature
at Tel Aviv University
in 1973 and graduated three years later.
and the West Bank
notably the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv
, the Haifa
theater and al-Kasaba theater in Ramallah
. During this period he became well-known as a star in Palestinian film and Israeli television. His one-man plays, "The Pessoptimist," 1986, "The Anchor," 1991, "Season of Migration to the North
1993," and "Abu Marmar," 1999, were performed as often in Hebrew as in Arabic, a reflection of his early wish to "tell the truth of Palestinian history – and tell it first and foremost to Israelis."
After a few years of acting in Palestinian and Israeli film, Bakri began to act in international films in countries such as France
, Belgium
, the Netherlands
, Denmark
and Canada
. Bakri also directed two documentary films including the controversial "Jenin, Jenin
". Almost all of Bakri's films were influenced by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and internal struggles of the Palestinian people
.
in April 2002, the Israeli Defense Forces invaded a Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin
. Nine percent of the camp was leveled and over 50 people were killed. According to the spokesmen for the Israeli military, the IDF refused to allow journalists, human rights and humanitarian organizations into the camp for "safety reasons" during the fighting, leading to a rapid cycle of rumors that a massacre had occurred. Jenin remained sealed for days after the invasion. Stories of civilians being buried alive in their homes as they were demolished, and of smoldering buildings covering crushed bodies, spread throughout the Arab world
. Various casualty figures circulated, reaching into the mid-hundreds.
Bakri entered the camp as soon as was feasible, and in the midst of great controversy and confusion over the results of the invasion, in both the Arabic and Hebrew press, began to collect oral testimony from Jenin residents. Out of this effort came the film Jenin Jenin, documenting both the trauma of the survivors, and an utterly wasted camp. Some of the survivors described a massacre of hundreds of people. Bakri did not interview Israeli officials. The film title referenced Palestinian taxidrivers calling "Ramallah, Ramallah, Ramallah," or "Jenin! Jenin!" to Palestinian workers and travellers moving through Israeli checkpoints.
Soon after it was released, after only three showings, Jenin Jenin was banned by the Israeli Film Board in 2002, accusing the film of being libelous for calling itself a documentary despite documenting only one 'side' of the story. Nevertheless, Bakri showed the film at the Tel Aviv
and Jerusalem cinemateques and at Arab theaters such as Al-Midan in Haifa
.
Bakri petitioned the High Court of Justice against the censor for prohibiting the screening of the film on the grounds that it distorted the truth. After a long fight, the court rejected the censor's decision. In 2004, the Israeli High Court finally upheld its earlier overturn of the ban, but joined the Film Board in labeling the film a "propagandistic lie," based on Israeli sources which acknowledged only 52 Palestinian deaths, 38 of whom Israeli sources argued were armed fighters.
In 2007, five soldiers who fought in the Jenin refugee camp during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 sued the cinamatheques in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for screening the film in the midst of the ban, and sued Bakri for 2.5 million NIS for producing the film. In July 2008 Bakri was acquitted of the charges.
Jenin-Jenin earned two awards: the "Best Film" award at the Carthage International Film Festival, 2002, and the International Prize for Mediterranean Documentary Filmmaking and Reporting.
Iyad Samoudi, the film's Executive Producer, was killed at Alyamoun at the end of the filming by Israeli soldiers on 23 June 2002.
is following in his father's footsteps, currently having a young acting career. He won the Best Supporting Actor award from the Israeli Film Academy for his role in the movie, The Band's Visit
(2007) and has gained international attention with his debut role in the Arabic film Salt of this Sea
(2008).
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
.
Early life
Bakri was born in the ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
village of Bi'ina in North-West Israel in 1953. He went to elementary school in his hometown and received his secondary education in the nearby city of Acre. He studied acting and Arabic literature
Arabic literature
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
in 1973 and graduated three years later.
Actor and filmmaker
Bakri began his professional acting career in plays in several theaters in IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
notably the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, the Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
theater and al-Kasaba theater in Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
. During this period he became well-known as a star in Palestinian film and Israeli television. His one-man plays, "The Pessoptimist," 1986, "The Anchor," 1991, "Season of Migration to the North
Season of Migration to the North
Season of Migration to the North is a classic post-colonial Sudanese novel by the late novelist Tayeb Salih...
1993," and "Abu Marmar," 1999, were performed as often in Hebrew as in Arabic, a reflection of his early wish to "tell the truth of Palestinian history – and tell it first and foremost to Israelis."
After a few years of acting in Palestinian and Israeli film, Bakri began to act in international films in countries such as France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Bakri also directed two documentary films including the controversial "Jenin, Jenin
Jenin, Jenin
Jenin, Jenin is a film directed by Mohammed Bakri, a prominent Arab actor and Israeli citizen, in order to portray what Bakri calls "the Palestinian truth" about the "Battle of Jenin", a clash between the Israeli army and Palestinians in April 2002 which drew Palestinian accounts of a "Jenin...
". Almost all of Bakri's films were influenced by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and internal struggles of the Palestinian people
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
.
Jenin Jenin controversy
During Operation Defensive ShieldOperation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. The operation was an attempt by the Israeli army to stop the...
in April 2002, the Israeli Defense Forces invaded a Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
. Nine percent of the camp was leveled and over 50 people were killed. According to the spokesmen for the Israeli military, the IDF refused to allow journalists, human rights and humanitarian organizations into the camp for "safety reasons" during the fighting, leading to a rapid cycle of rumors that a massacre had occurred. Jenin remained sealed for days after the invasion. Stories of civilians being buried alive in their homes as they were demolished, and of smoldering buildings covering crushed bodies, spread throughout the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
. Various casualty figures circulated, reaching into the mid-hundreds.
Bakri entered the camp as soon as was feasible, and in the midst of great controversy and confusion over the results of the invasion, in both the Arabic and Hebrew press, began to collect oral testimony from Jenin residents. Out of this effort came the film Jenin Jenin, documenting both the trauma of the survivors, and an utterly wasted camp. Some of the survivors described a massacre of hundreds of people. Bakri did not interview Israeli officials. The film title referenced Palestinian taxidrivers calling "Ramallah, Ramallah, Ramallah," or "Jenin! Jenin!" to Palestinian workers and travellers moving through Israeli checkpoints.
Soon after it was released, after only three showings, Jenin Jenin was banned by the Israeli Film Board in 2002, accusing the film of being libelous for calling itself a documentary despite documenting only one 'side' of the story. Nevertheless, Bakri showed the film at the Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and Jerusalem cinemateques and at Arab theaters such as Al-Midan in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
.
Bakri petitioned the High Court of Justice against the censor for prohibiting the screening of the film on the grounds that it distorted the truth. After a long fight, the court rejected the censor's decision. In 2004, the Israeli High Court finally upheld its earlier overturn of the ban, but joined the Film Board in labeling the film a "propagandistic lie," based on Israeli sources which acknowledged only 52 Palestinian deaths, 38 of whom Israeli sources argued were armed fighters.
In 2007, five soldiers who fought in the Jenin refugee camp during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 sued the cinamatheques in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for screening the film in the midst of the ban, and sued Bakri for 2.5 million NIS for producing the film. In July 2008 Bakri was acquitted of the charges.
Jenin-Jenin earned two awards: the "Best Film" award at the Carthage International Film Festival, 2002, and the International Prize for Mediterranean Documentary Filmmaking and Reporting.
Iyad Samoudi, the film's Executive Producer, was killed at Alyamoun at the end of the filming by Israeli soldiers on 23 June 2002.
Family
Bakri is married with six children. His son Saleh BakriSaleh Bakri
Saleh Bakri - is a Palestinian actor. He began his career in the theater and in 2007 played in two films, The Band's Visit and Salt of this Sea thereby launching a new career...
is following in his father's footsteps, currently having a young acting career. He won the Best Supporting Actor award from the Israeli Film Academy for his role in the movie, The Band's Visit
The Band's Visit
The Band's Visit is an acclaimed 2007 Israeli film directed by Eran Kolirin.The Band's Visit was Israel's original Foreign Language Film submission for the 80th Academy Awards, but was rejected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences because it contained over 50% English dialogue...
(2007) and has gained international attention with his debut role in the Arabic film Salt of this Sea
Salt of this Sea
Salt of this Sea is a 2008 Palestinian film directed by Annemarie Jacir. It is Palestine's submission to the 81st Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film-Awards:* FIPRESCI PRIZE - INTERNATIONAL CRITICS AWARD...
(2008).
Actor
- La Masseria Delle AllodoleLa Masseria Delle AllodoleLa masseria delle allodole is a 2007 Italian film directed by Taviani brothers about the Armenian Genocide. The film is also known as "The Lark Farm".-Plot:...
/ "The Lark Farm" by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (Italy) 2007 - "PrivatePrivate (film)Private is a 2004 film directed by Saverio Costanzo. A debut film by the director, the film is a minimalist psychological drama about a Palestinian family of seven suddenly confronted with a volatile situation in their home that in many ways reflects the larger ongoing conflict between Palestinians...
" by Saverio CostanzoSaverio CostanzoSaverio Costanzo is an Italian film director.He was born in Rome, the son of journalist and TV presenter Maurizio Costanzo. His debut was Private in 2004. In 2007 his second feature In memoria di me was presented at the 57th Berlin Film Festival...
(Italy) 2004 - "The Olive HarvestThe Olive HarvestThe Olive Harvest is a 2003 Palestinian film directed by Hanna Elias. It won the "Best Arab film" award for 2003 at the Cairo International Film Festival, and it was Palestine's submission to the 77th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a...
" by Hannah Elias (Palestine) 2001 - "Desperado Square" by Benny Toraty (Italy/Israel) 1997
- "HaifaHaifa (film)Haifa is a 1996 Palestinian drama film directed by Rashid Masharawi. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Mohammed Bakri - Haifa* Ahmad Abu Sal'oum - Abu Said* Hiam Abbass - Oum Said...
" by Rashid MasharawiRashid MasharawiRashid Masharawi, film artist, born in Gaza in 1962 to a family of refugees from Jaffa. He grew up in the Shati refugee camp....
(Palestine/Netherlands) 1996 - "Sous les pieds des femmes" by Rachid Krim (France) 1995
- "The Milky Way" by Ali NassarAli NassarAli Nassar is an Arab-Israeli film director. Nassar was born in the Galilee village of Arraba, and graduated from the University of Moscow in 1981 with a degree in film...
(Israel) 1994 - "The Tale of the Three Jewels" by Michel KhleifiMichel KhleifiMichel Khleifi is a Palestinian film writer, director and producer. He emigrated from Israel in 1970 and now resides in Belgium. There, he studied television and theatre directing at the Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle . After graduating from INSAS, he worked in Belgium...
(Palestine/Belgium) 1994 - "Beyond the Walls II" by Uri Barabash (Israel) 1994
- "Cup Final (film)Cup Final (film)Cup Final is a 1991 Israeli film set during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon by Israel.-Plot:A young Israeli soldier, Cohen, is kidnapped by a group of Palestinian fighters who hold him as an hostage during the conflict...
" by Eran Riklis (Israel) 1991 - "Foreign Nights" by Izidore K. MusallamIzidore MusallamIzidore Musallam is a Palestinian film director, producer and screenwriter who most recently produced the Sci Fi Pictures original film: Savage Planet...
(Canada) 1989 - "Rami og Julie" by Erik Clausen (Denmark) 1988
- "Esther" by Amos GitaiAmos GitaiAmos Gitai , born 11 October 1950 in Haifa, Israel, is an Israeli filmmaker and director. He is mainly known for making documentaries and experimental / minimalist feature films...
(Israel/UK) 1986 - "Beyond the WallsBeyond the WallsBeyond the Walls is a 1984 Israeli film directed by Uri Barbash co-wrote with Eran Preis. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-Plot:...
" by Uri Barabash co-wrote with Eran PreisEran PreisEran Preis is an Israeli-American director, screenwriter, playwright, and producer. Beyond the Walls, a film he co-wrote in 1984, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He has taught screenwriting and International Cinema for decades.-Biography:Eran Preis born in...
, (Israel) 1984, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. - "Hanna K.Hanna K.Hannah K. is a 1983 drama film directed by Costa Gavras, starring Jill Clayburgh and Gabriel Byrne.-Plot:Hanna K. is the story of Hannah Kaufman, a child of Holocaust survivors and an American-Jewish immigrant to Israel, who was a court-appointed lawyer assigned to defend a Palestinian, Salim...
" by Constantin Costa-Gavras (Israel/France) 1983
Director
- 1948 (Palestine/Israel) 1999
- Jenin, JeninJenin, JeninJenin, Jenin is a film directed by Mohammed Bakri, a prominent Arab actor and Israeli citizen, in order to portray what Bakri calls "the Palestinian truth" about the "Battle of Jenin", a clash between the Israeli army and Palestinians in April 2002 which drew Palestinian accounts of a "Jenin...
(Palestine) 2002 - Since You Left (Israel) 2004
- ZahraZahraZahra, and other spellings of the same Arabic word, can refer to:*Zahra , female given name, and family name*Abdul Zahra, male given name-Towns and districts:*Al Zahra, neighborhood of Mecca, Saudi Arabia...
(Palestine) 2009
Awards
- Award for the Best Actor for the role in "Private" in Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaBuenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaThe Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.The festival is managed by the Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, it is not...
2005 - Bronze Leopard for the Best Actor for the role in "Private" by Saverio Costanzo, Locarno International Film FestivalLocarno International Film FestivalThe Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
2004 - Palestine Prize for Cinema 1999 Ramallah
- Award for the Best Actor for the role in "Haifa" by Rashid Masharawi, Valencia Festival 1997
- Award for the Best Actor for the role in "Beyond the Walls II" by Uri Barabash, Valencia Festival 1994
- Award for the Best Actor for the role in "Beyond the Walls" by Uri Barabash, Israel 1984
- Award for the best actor for the role in Season of Migration to the North, by Tayeb SalihTayeb Salih-Early life:Born in Karmakol, near the village of Al Dabbah in the Northern Province of Sudan, he studied at the University of Khartoum before leaving for the University of London in England. Coming from a background of small farmers and religious teachers, his original intention was to work in...
, adapted and directed by Ouriel ZoharOuriel ZoharOuriel Zohar , is an Israeli and French theater director, playwright and translator from French to Hebrew. He created the Technion theater in 1986 and has been visiting Professor at the University of Paris VIII and HEC Paris since 1995....
, in the Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli TheatreAcco Festival of Alternative Israeli TheatreThe Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre is a four-day performing arts festival held annually in the city of Acre, Israel during the Intermediate Days of the Sukkot holiday in early autumn...
, Israel 1993.