Nabil Maleh

Directing

Nabil Maleh

Born — Died

1936-09-28 — 2016-02-24

Place of birth

Damascus, Syria

Known for

Directing

Credits

12 titles

Nabil Maleh (September 28, 1936 – February 24, 2016) was a Syrian film director, screenwriter, producer, painter, and poet, widely regarded as a founding figure of modern Syrian cinema. Born in Damascus, he initially traveled to Czechoslovakia to study nuclear physics before discovering cinema and enrolling at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), where he earned a master’s degree in film and television directing. His formative years in Prague immersed him in an international cultural environment that deeply shaped his artistic outlook. Upon returning to Syria in the mid-1960s, Maleh became the country’s first formally trained European film-school gradua…

Known for

The Cheetah poster
5.0

Set in Syria in the early 1900s. A peasant has his land taken from him by the authorities. He gets imprisoned and beaten by the gendarme, but manages to escape to the mountains where starts a bloody struggle for revolution.

The Cheetah

1972

No artwork available
NR

In 90 seconds, Nabil Maleh mimics the tone and cadence of an American-style television advertisement, pitching napalm as if it were a consumer product—an acid critique of the rhetoric that sanitizes mass violence.

Napalm

1970

Bikaya suar poster
NR

Abu Salem is a small family living a very miserable life, and their dream is simple in life. The wife is overwhelmed as she suffers from some diseases, the husband gets into several unsuccessful adventures, and the children open their eyes to this cruel world. We follow their lives and dreams to a better tomorrow.

Bikaya suar

1973

Ghawar James Bond poster
NR

The events revolve around a three-person gang led by Abu Al-Ghawar (Duraid Lahham), who plans to steal Simon Bay, and the gang members succeed in deceiving him and stealing his locker. Whereas the husband of his sister (Nihad al-Qala'i) is a person who has many problems and disputes with the people of the region due to the mockery of the people of the region of Abu al-Ghawar Who uses this money to do amazing inventions that have no use.

Ghawar James Bond

1974

Najla's Passions poster
NR

When a film crew descends on a rural Syrian village, the act of filmmaking itself begins to unsettle everyday life. Centered on Najla, the film observes how performance, desire, and social pressure blur the line between reality and fiction. Najla’s Passions was the first Syrian feature produced digitally.

Najla's Passions

2000

Men Under the Sun poster
NR

Three Palestinian men strive to escape the hardships of life in a refugee camp. Under the scorching sun, the men enlist the help of an old man, Abu Al-Khaizuran, to smuggle them in an empty water tank across the desert.

Men Under the Sun

1970

Behind the camera

The Cheetah poster
5.0

Set in Syria in the early 1900s. A peasant has his land taken from him by the authorities. He gets imprisoned and beaten by the gendarme, but manages to escape to the mountains where starts a bloody struggle for revolution.

The Cheetah

1972

The Cheetah poster
5.0

Set in Syria in the early 1900s. A peasant has his land taken from him by the authorities. He gets imprisoned and beaten by the gendarme, but manages to escape to the mountains where starts a bloody struggle for revolution.

The Cheetah

1972

No artwork available
NR

In 90 seconds, Nabil Maleh mimics the tone and cadence of an American-style television advertisement, pitching napalm as if it were a consumer product—an acid critique of the rhetoric that sanitizes mass violence.

Napalm

1970

Bikaya suar poster
NR

Abu Salem is a small family living a very miserable life, and their dream is simple in life. The wife is overwhelmed as she suffers from some diseases, the husband gets into several unsuccessful adventures, and the children open their eyes to this cruel world. We follow their lives and dreams to a better tomorrow.

Bikaya suar

1973

Ghawar James Bond poster
NR

The events revolve around a three-person gang led by Abu Al-Ghawar (Duraid Lahham), who plans to steal Simon Bay, and the gang members succeed in deceiving him and stealing his locker. Whereas the husband of his sister (Nihad al-Qala'i) is a person who has many problems and disputes with the people of the region due to the mockery of the people of the region of Abu al-Ghawar Who uses this money to do amazing inventions that have no use.

Ghawar James Bond

1974

Najla's Passions poster
NR

When a film crew descends on a rural Syrian village, the act of filmmaking itself begins to unsettle everyday life. Centered on Najla, the film observes how performance, desire, and social pressure blur the line between reality and fiction. Najla’s Passions was the first Syrian feature produced digitally.

Najla's Passions

2000

Men Under the Sun poster
NR

Three Palestinian men strive to escape the hardships of life in a refugee camp. Under the scorching sun, the men enlist the help of an old man, Abu Al-Khaizuran, to smuggle them in an empty water tank across the desert.

Men Under the Sun

1970

Men Under the Sun poster
NR

Three Palestinian men strive to escape the hardships of life in a refugee camp. Under the scorching sun, the men enlist the help of an old man, Abu Al-Khaizuran, to smuggle them in an empty water tank across the desert.

Men Under the Sun

1970

Mr. Progressive poster
NR

A revolutionary journalist tries to expose a corrupt, opportunistic politician who is making shady deals. The prominent politician tries to take revenge on him, using his intelligence and wide connections, by framing him in a murder that will silence him forever.

Mr. Progressive

1974

Mr. Progressive poster
NR

A revolutionary journalist tries to expose a corrupt, opportunistic politician who is making shady deals. The prominent politician tries to take revenge on him, using his intelligence and wide connections, by framing him in a murder that will silence him forever.

Mr. Progressive

1974

The Extras poster
5.6

Salem dreams of being an actor but is still working in a gas station, only his love for Nada can make things easier for him.

The Extras

1993

The Extras poster
5.6

Salem dreams of being an actor but is still working in a gas station, only his love for Nada can make things easier for him.

The Extras

1993