Acting

Youssef Hanna

Born 1941-03-11 · Acre, Israel

Youssef Hanna was a Palestinian-Syrian actor and one of the leading founders of the Palestinian National Theater in Damascus during the mid-20th century. He remains one of the most memorable faces of Syrian television, having performed numerous distinguished roles in Syrian drama from its earliest years. His career developed alongside the Syrian television industry itself, allowing him to witness and participate in its growth into artistic maturity. Hanna was born in Acre, Palestine, on March 21, 1941. He was the nephew of poet Nicola Hanna, the brother of writer Amal Hanna, and the cousin of actor Rami Hanna and writer Reem Hanna. He worked extensively in theater and appeared in several Syrian films, as well as a number of Egyptian-Syrian co-productions. Arab audiences particularly remember his notable performance alongside Duraid Lahham in the play Shaqaiq al-Nu‘man, as well as his acclaimed role in Haitham Hakki’s television series Al-Dughri. The latter showcased his acting abilities and his talent for combining emotional authenticity with strong dramatic performance. Youssef Hanna was among the Palestinian and Syrian artists who began acting during a period when the profession was still largely practiced on an amateur basis, before continuing it as a full-time career. He remained deeply connected to the arts until his death and continued to aspire to take part in new productions.

Acting credits

7.3

The film follows three Palestinian refugees brought together by dispossession and hope for a better future. Hiding in the tank of a truck, the men attempt to make their way across the border into Kuwait, the "promised land."

The Dupes

1972

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

A newly graduated young doctor has hopes of making his way steadily in his country, or of traveling to another country in order to achieve his dreams. In the village, he wakes up from his rosy dream he lived before he traveled to a harsh reality, after he is accused of murder.

Another Face of Love

1973

An anthology film that features three stories about the suffering of the people of the Syrian countryside in the time of feudalism; the first is about a poor peasant who falls victim to an agent of feudalism, the second is about a little girl, who has to get medicine for her feverish mother. As for the third story, it depicts the tools of feudalism in wresting the land from the peasants.

Shame: A Trilogy

1974

An oneiric film poem about a murder in occupied Palestine, in which Qais Al-Zubaidi used drawing, poetry, music, phonograph and pantomime with his technical virtuosity and formal expressionism. Featuring poetry from Mahmoud Darwish, Samih al-Qasim, and Tawfiq Ziad.

The Visit

2024

After the 1967 setback, Abu Ramzi is displaced from the Golan with his family, and he is tired in order to secure a livelihood and his wife who works in sewing helps him. As for the son Ramzi, he dreams of riches quickly and in the easiest way, which drives him to collide with his father, who dreams of a roof that shelter him through halal earnings.

Something Is Burning

1993