Hiam Abbass
Hiam Abbass was acclaimed for her performance opposite Academy Award nominee Richard Jenkins in Thomas McCarthy’s The Visitor. She was born in Nazareth, but it was after moving to Paris that she began her acting career in movies. Her feature films have since included Rashid Masharawi’s Haïfa; Ahmed Boulane’s Ali, Rabiaa et les autres; Didier Bivel’s Fais-moi des vacances; Raja Amari’s Satin rouge; Hany Abu-Assad’s Academy Award-nominated Paradise Now; Amos Gitai’s Free Zone and Disengagement; Steven Spielberg’s Munich; and Catherine Hardwicke’s The Nativity Story. Additionally, on Alejandro Gonz?lez I??rritu’s Babel as well as Munich and The Nativity Story, she worked as creative consultant and acting coach to child and/or first-time actors. Abbass has performed for director Eran Riklis in two films: The Syrian Bride and Lemon Tree, the latter winning the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival and winning numerous acting awards for Abbass, including a European Film Award nomination for Best Actress and an Israeli Film Academy Award for Best Actress. Abbass next begins work on Julian Schnabel’s Miral, starring in the lead role of real-life heroine Hind Husseini. ALIA SHAWKAT (Salma Halaby) Success arrived early for Alia Shawkat. Her career began at the age of 11 when she landed a role on the ABC Family series State of Grace. However, she is best known for her role as Maeby Funke on Fox’s Emmy award-winning Arrested Development, where she portrayed a rebellious and mischievous member of a dysfunctional Orange County family trying to adjust to their loss of wealth. Most recently Shawkat was seen opposite William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines in the high school comedy Bart Got a Room, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Shawkat can be seen in Whip It, a dramedy from first-time director Drew Barrymore about a misfit teenager who discovers herself through joining a roller derby league. She stars alongside Ellen Page as Pash, the funny and charming best friend of Bliss (Page) who helps keep her in check. Shawkat’s additional film credits include Prom Wars; Rebound opposite Martin Lawrence; the ensemble family comedy Deck the Halls with Matthew Broderick, Danny DeVito and Kristin Chenowith; Three Kings opposite George Clooney; and the supporting lead in Ron Pearlman’s Trail of Old Drum. In addition to her bustling film career, Shawkat has many new projects lined up for the small screenl. She recently wrapped production opposite Megan Mullally and Alicia Silverstone on the ABC pilot Bad Mothers Handbook about a 30-something-year-old woman trying to raise her teenage daughter while also taking care of her mother. Shawkat can also be seen in a recurring role on USA Network’s breakout hit series Starter Wife, playing a troubled teen who befriends Molly (Debra Messing) and Joan (Judy Davis) at a rehab facility. Additional television credits include a starring role in the Lifetime original movie Not Like Everyone Else and guest-starring roles on Veronica Mars, JAG, Without a Trace, Boomtown and Presidio Med.
