Hiam Abbass to Receive European Achievement in World Cinema Award

The European Film Academy will present Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass with its European Achievement in World Cinema Award. The honour comes at the 39th European Film Awards, held in Athens on 16 January 2027. The Academy cites her “outstanding body of work” across more than 100 films.

The Academy announced the award on 21 October 2026. Abbass will attend the ceremony as an honorary guest. The event will be streamed live on the European Film Awards website.

Hiam Abbass: From Nazareth to Paris

Abbass was born in Nazareth into a Palestinian family that went into exile in 1948. She began acting at El-Hakawati, the Palestinian National Theatre in East Jerusalem. According to the Academy, Israeli authorities often closed the theatre.

During a theatre tour of Europe, she decided to leave Palestine for London. She has lived in Paris since the late 1980s. Her first lead role came in 1989, in Ariane Mnouchkine’s La Nuit miraculeuse.

Films That Defined Her International Career

The Academy lists a wide range of titles from Palestinian, Arab and international cinema. They include Satin Rouge, Paradise Now, Amreeka, The Visitor, Miral and Blade Runner 2049. More recent credits include Gaza Mon Amour, Palestine 36 and Atonement.

On television, she appeared in the Hulu series Ramy and the HBO series Succession. Her work in Succession earned a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2023.

She has also been recognised before by the European Film Awards. Both earlier nominations came for films by director Eran Riklis. She was nominated for the People’s Choice Award in 2005 for The Syrian Bride. In 2008 she was nominated for European Actress for Lemon Tree, a role that also won her an Asia Pacific Screen Award.

A Family Story and a Directing Career

Her daughter, Lina Soualem, made the documentary Bye Bye Tiberias. The film returns to Abbass’s home village of Deir Hanna and explores her choices and her bond with her family. It was nominated at the European Film Awards in 2024.

Abbass also directs. Her film Inheritance played at festivals in Gijón and São Paulo, and at Venice Days in 2012.

Why the Award Matters for Arab Cinema Audiences

Many viewers of Turkish historical drama also follow storytelling from across the Middle East. The award puts a spotlight on an actress who has worked in Palestinian, Arab and European productions. For readers who enjoy period drama and regional history, her career shows how film can carry stories of identity and displacement across borders.

The European culture channel ARTE is marking the award with a special programme. The Syrian Bride will air on TV and on arte.tv. Inheritance and Foreign Body will be available online on arte.tv. ARTE co-produced both The Syrian Bride and Inheritance.

Source: European Film Academy
Featured image: Ross from hamilton on, Canada / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0