A new generation of Palestinian actors is reshaping the cinematic landscape, bringing fresh energy, lived experience, and international visibility to stories rooted in Palestine. Emerging from diverse backgrounds, whether parkour, theatre, skateboarding, or early-stage performance, these talents are gaining recognition at major festivals and on global screens.
Between award-season buzz and global acclaim, these are the actors rewriting the rules of Palestinian cinema.
Karim Anaya
Karim Daoud Anaya made his screen debut playing the role of Yusuf in Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36 (2025), Palestine’s submission to the 2026 Academy Awards.
Born in the West Bank city of Qalqilya, Anaya began his artistic journey by leaping across rooftops as a parkour artist, later developing his craft as a self-trained actor. In 2015, he moved to Berlin after a friend suggested him for a role in a theatre play, and the German capital has since become his home.
Wardi Eilabouni
Only 12 years old, Wardi Eilabouni made her debut on the silver screen with Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36 (2025) as one of the youngest lead cast members of the film.
On behalf of the film’s team, the young star accepted the Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival in November 2025, underscoring both her early achievement and the growing international recognition of Palestinian cinema.
Motaz Malhees
Just last year, rising actor Motaz Malhees starred in The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania. The film won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, which was followed by a record-breaking 23-minute standing ovation.
Malhees began acting at the age of nine. He joined The Freedom Theatre Professional Acting School at 16 years old and has since been in a number of features and short films, including the critically acclaimed 200 Meters (2020) by Ameen Nayfeh.
Sereen Khass
Sereen Khass is a Palestinian-Egyptian actor and performer, born in Gaza and raised between Cairo and Amman. She made her big screen debut with Alam (The Flag, 2022), directed by Firas Khoury, playing the film’s co-lead Maysaa’. The film premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, and won the Audience Award and Golden Pyramid at the Cairo International Film Festival the same year.
In 2024, she took on the title role in Meliha, a high-profile television series directed by Amr Arafa, starring alongside Mervat Amin and Ashraf Zaki. Most recently, Sereen starred in AMBUSH (2025) by Yassmina Karajah. The short premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and was named in the Festival’s annual year-end Canada’s Top Ten list for 2025.
Aram Sabbah
Originally a skateboarder who represented Palestine at an Olympic skateboarding qualifier, Aram began his acting career when he starred as the lead in To a Land Unknown (2024), a drama film directed by Mahdi Fleifel. Following some late-stage scheduling drama with the initial cast, Aram was tapped for the role with less than a week to prep before cameras started rolling.
Besides ongoing shoots for upcoming productions, Aram is the manager of skatepal, and the head of visuals for record label BLTNM.
Hayat Abu Samra
Following a few shorts, Abu Samra made her TV debut as Hanadi in the series AlRawabi School for Girls where she was also a writing assistant.
Last year, Abu Samra played Layla in All That’s Left of You (2025) by Cherien Dabis, the official submission of Jordan for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category of the 98th Academy Awards in 2026.
Adam Khattar
A graduate from the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, Khattar starred in the Hollywood film Holiday Twist in 2023.
In the recent years, his career further expanded to Arab cinema where he was cast in Thank You for Banking with Us (2024) by Laila Abbas and All That’s Left of You (2025) by Cherien Dabis.
Saja Kilani
Actress and poet Saja Kilani started her acting career as the lead of Simsim, a feature film by Sundos Merat, a performance that earned her the Best First Time Lead Actress Award at the Amman International Film Festival in 2025.
The same year, she starred in The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025) by Kaouther Ben Hania in which she played Rana, a Palestinian Red Crescent worker whose voice steadies a terrified six-year-old girl in her final hours.
