Middle East Film Festival

Middle East Film Festival - Top Actors

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Just a list of the actors who have appeared in three or more of the films on my list, ranked according to the number of appearances, not according to any favouritism! If I've missed someone, please let me know :~) It's in the nature of things, as discussed elsewhere, that Palestinian actors constitute a relatively small pool, and that is the reason why the top end of the list is dominated by them. The same actors tend to turn up again and again, sometimes as the Arab characters (in major or "token" roles) in Israeli films, as well as in the relatively small number of Palestinian films which manage to get made in the face of all the obvious barriers. Quite remarkably, one of the Palestinian actors, Yussuf Abu Warda (the father of Layla in Habibi) plays a Haredi rabbi in Amos Gitai's Kadosh. That's some range!

As things stand, Saleh Bakri gets the honour of being classified as the most prolific Arab/Palestinian actor and most prolific overall. That's him on the left of the picture, along with two others on this list, Ronit Elkabetz and Sasson Gabai.

Lior Ashkenazi is the most prolific Israeli-Jewish actor on the list I'm clarifying that distinction, because like all the other Palestinian actors on the list (I think), Bakri is also an Israeli citizen. The last I checked, anyway - times are crazy, and things can change.

(Update - Saleh Bakri's position of dominance has seen itself challenged by Ali Suliman, who kind of crept up on the inside. Let's see how that goes, as I keep discovering films to add to the list. However, if you add Saleh to his father Mohammad - also on the list - plus his two brothers, who are also actors and one of whom appears in at least one film on the list, the Bakri family wins the competition hands down)

Saleh Bakri صلح بكري The Band's Visit Salt of this Sea The Time That Remains When I Saw You Giraffada Wajib Bomboné The Present Amira Costa Brava Lebanon The Blue Caftan
Ali Suliman علي سليمان The Syrian Bride Paradise Now Lemon Tree Pomegranates and Myrrh The Attack A Borrowed Identity It Must Be Heaven 200 Metres Farha Amira Huda's Salon
Lior Ashkenazi ליאור אשכנזי Late Marriage Walk on Water The Bubble Footnote Yossi Big Bad Wolves Norman Foxtrot Golda
Hiam Abbass هيام عباس The Syrian Bride Paradise Now Free Zone Disengagement Lemon Tree Pomegranates and Myrrh Rock the Casbah Insyriated
Yussuf Abu-Warda يوسف أبو وردة Wedding in Galilee Kadosh Kedma Promised Land Disengagement Habibi 3000 Nights
Kais Nashef قيس ناشف Paradise Now Habibi Big Bad Wolves Tel Aviv on Fire Limbo Abu Omar Amira
Makram Khoury مكرم خوري Wedding in Galilee The Syrian Bride Free Zone Lemon Tree Farewell Baghdad Wajib
Maisa Abd Elhadi ميساء عبد الهادي Habibi Eyes of a Thief 3000 Nights Tel Aviv on Fire Huda's Salon
Yael Abecassis יעל אבקסיס Kadosh Live and Become Shiva (Seven Days) Hunting Elephants A Borrowed Identity
Ronit Elkabetz רונית אלקבץ Late Marriage To Take a Wife The Band's Visit Shiva (Seven Days) Gett – The Trial of Viviane Amsallem
Nadine Labaki نادين لبكي Caramel Where Do We Go Now? Rock The Casbah Capernaum Costa Brava, Lebanon
Orly Silbersatz אורלי זילברשץ The Song of the Siren Saint Clara Broken Wings Intimate Grammar Yossi
Ashraf Barhom أشرف برهوم The Syrian Bride Paradise Now Lebanon Farha The Stranger
Ohad Knoller אוהד קנולר Yossi & Jagger The Bubble Beaufort Yossi Golda
Yigal Naor יגאל נאור Saint Clara The Infidel Farewell Baghdad The Women's Balcony Maktub
Menashe Noy מנשה נוי Saint Clara The Time That Remains Policeman Big Bad Wolves Gett – The Trial of Viviane Amsallem
Lubna Azabal لبنى أزابال Paradise Now Rock the Casbah Tel Aviv on Fire The Blue Caftan
Ruba Blal محمد بكري The Bubble When I Saw You Sandstorm Wajib
Mohammad Bakri محمد بكري Cup Final Giraffada Wajib The Stranger
Dvir Benedek דביר בנדק A Matter of Size The Attack Big Bad Wolves Golda
Uri Gavriel אורי גבריאל The Syrian Bride The Band's Visit The Attack Farewell Baghdad
Diamand Abou Abboud دياموند ابو عبود Here Comes the Rain The Insult Insyriated
Sarah Adler שרה אדלר Jellyfish The Cakemaker Foxtrot
Taraneh Alidoosti ترانه عليدوستی Fireworks Wednesday About Elly The Salesman
Dana Ivgy דאנה איבגי Broken Wings Disengagement Zero Motivation
Sasson Gabai ששון גבאי The Band's Visit Hunting Elephants Gett – The Trial of Viviane Amsallem
Shahab Hosseini شهاب حسینی About Elly A Separation The Salesman
Adel Karam عادل كرم Caramel Where Do We Go Now? The Insult
Reza Naji رضا ناجی Children of Heaven Baran The Song of Sparrows
Zohar Strauss זהר שטראוס Beaufort Lebanon The Cakemaker
Yousef "Joe" Sweid يوسف سويد יוסף "ג'ו" סוויד Walk On Water The Bubble Tel Aviv On Fire