Nisreen Faour

Nisreen Faour was born in Tarshiha, Israel. At the age of 16, she traveled to the United States to study play arts. She then moved back to the village of Tarsihina to finish secondary school. The classically trained stage actress performed in more than 15 plays - most of them award-winning - for adults and children worldwide. She had a starring role in "Sarhan and the Seniorita," which won a Best Acting Award at the Monodrama Festival in 1996, "Nono colors from the deaf theater," a first-place winner in the Public Stage Festival in 2002, "Don Kichote" for the Haifa International Festival, and "Happy Woman" produced by the National Palestinian Theater. Not content with just performing on stage, Faour studied theater directing at Haifa University. She was also very much involved in several causes. She also worked as a drama mentor in schools and in foundations with special needs, as well as became a yoga teacher and Deksha giver (one who helps restore perfect energy flow to the body) to increase awareness of the quality of life and the environment in India. Faour made her onscreen acting debut in the feature film "In the 9th Month," a tragic love story told in the context of an oppressed people who rise above their hardships through a young boy named Amal. Directed by acclaimed Arab-Israeli director, Ali Nassar, the film was also an updated version of an Arab legend about Jews in black robes who stole children. Faour delivered a moving performance as Samira, Amal's mother, who endures a hard life that includes being separated from her exiled husband and living in a village that is tightly controlled by Israeli authorities. The film was shown in major theaters in Los Angeles, Paris, Carthage, Tunisia, Iran and at the Nazareth Film Festival, where Faour received a Medal of Excellence for her performance. Faour then scored a leading role in "Gehalim Iohashot," which Variety described as "an Israeli role-reversal spin on 'The Way We Were' (1973)." Faour gave an earnest performance as Abir, an Arab-Israeli wife who was abandoned by her communist husband because she did not share his idealistic and passionate views on leftist politics. The film, which premiered at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival, exposed Faour's acting prowess to an even bigger audience and began her ascent as an international celebrity.