Bye Bye Tiberias

Film details

Film TitleBye Bye Tiberias
Suitability
Genre
Length83mins
Year2024
CountryBelgium, France, Palestinian Territory, Qatar
DirectorLina Soualem
ActorsHiam Abbass, Lina Soualem
LanguageArabic, French
AKAباي باي طبريا
Showings

In her early twenties, Hiam Abbass left her native Palestinian village to follow her dream of becoming an actress in Europe, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and seven sisters. Thirty years later, her filmmaker daughter Lina returns with her to the village and questions for the first time her mother’s bold choices, her chosen exile and the way the women in their family influenced both their lives.

Another type of documentary might have done more investigating on the subject of Michael, or even made his mysterious existence the film’s whole point. Well, this isn’t Lina Soualem’s purpose, and it’s an arresting family record.

The warm relationship she has with her director daughter means moments that could feel voyeuristic in another’s hands, only underscore the film’s underlying message – the necessity of matrilineal storytelling.