''Bye Bye Tiberias'' () is a 2023 documentary film directed by Lina Soualem, written by Soualem and Nadine Naous, in collaboration with Gladys Joujou. It follows Hiam Abbass, who leaves her Palestinian village of Deir Hanna in the

Lower Galilee The Lower Galilee (; ar, الجليل الأسفل, translit=Al Jalil Al Asfal) is a region within the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The Lower Galilee is bordered by the Jezreel Valley to the south; the Upper Galilee to t ...

, Israel to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and sisters. Abbass returns to her village, with her daughter, Soulaem, to explore her mother's choices, and family influence. It is a co-production between Palestine, Belgium, France and Qatar. It had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in the

Giornate degli Autori The Giornate degli Autori or simply the Giornate, formerly also known in English as Venice Days, is an independent film festival section held in parallel to and in association with the Venice Film Festival. It is modeled on the Directors' Fortnight ...

section on 3 September 2023, and is scheduled to be released in France on 21 February 2024.

Premise

Hiam Abbass leaves her native Palestinian village of Deir Hanna in the Lower Galilee, Israel, to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and sisters. Abbass returns to her village, with her daughter, Lina Soulaem, to explore her mother's choices and family influence.

Production

In October 2020, it was announced Lina Soualem would direct a documentary revolving around her mother, Hiam Abbass, with the film receiving grants from Arte, Doha Film Institute and

Arab Fund for Arts and Culture The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) () is an independent, non-profit NGO that funds individuals and cultural organizations in the Arab region. By awarding grants for partial funding of cultural projects and other forms of support, AFAC fac ...

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in the

section on September 3, 2023. It also screened at the

2023 Toronto International Film Festival The 48th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2023.Victoria Ahearn"TIFF reveals new programmers and other 2023 festival details" '' Playback'', April 20, 2023. The most noted change from past years was tha ...

on 11 September 2023. It screened at the

2023 BFI London Film Festival The 67th BFI London Film Festival is a film festival took place from 4–15 October 2023. The competition films were announced on 29 August 2023 while the films for the galas and the strands were revealed on 31 August 2023. The juries for the vari ...

on 7 October 2023, where it received the Grierson Award for Best Documentary. In December 2023, Women Make Movies acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.

Reception

Critical reception

Awards and nominations

It was selected as the Palestinian entry for the Best International Feature for the 96th Academy Awards, but did not make the short list. It has been nominated for Best Documentary at the

39th Independent Spirit Awards The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films and television series of 2023, were presented by Film Independent on February 25, 2024. The ceremony took place at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California, and ...

. At the 2024

DOXA Documentary Film Festival The DOXA Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is held annually held for 10 days in May, and is presented by The Documentary Media Society, a non-profit organization. The festiva ...

, it was the winner of the international DOXA Feature Documentary Award.Janet Smith
"Red Fever, Bye Bye Tiberias, and La Laguna del Soldado amid award winners at DOXA Documentary Film Festival"
''Stir'', May 11, 2024.

References

External links

* {{Palestinian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film 2023 films 2023 documentary films Palestinian documentary films Belgian documentary films French documentary films Qatari documentary films 2020s French-language films 2020s Arabic-language films Documentary films about actors Documentary films about women 2020s French films 2020s Belgian films