Only Rebels Win Trailer: Hiam Abbass from Succession Stars as a Widow in a Heartfelt Love Story Set in Beirut
Palestinian-French Actress Hiam Abbass Shines in Berlin Film Festival Premiere
Palestinian-French actress Hiam Abbass is set to make a significant appearance at the Berlin Film Festival this week, showcasing her role in Danielle Arbid’s drama Only Rebels Win, which takes place in Beirut. Abbass portrays a lonely Palestinian widow who develops a romantic relationship with a young Sudanese man.
Sharing the screen with Abbass is Amine Benrachid, a French actor of South Sudanese and Chadian descent, embarking on his first major film role as Ousmane. Benrachid honed his craft at the École Kourtrajmé, a nonprofit film school founded by Les Misérables director Ladj Ly.
Only Rebels Win marks the sixth feature for director Arbid, who left Lebanon for Paris in 1987 during the civil war. Her previous works include In the Battlefields (2004), A Lost Man (2007), Parisienne (2015), and Simple Passion (2020).
Arbid describes her latest work, which opens the Berlinale’s Panorama section, as a reflection of today’s politically charged climate. “This is a film that resonates with our particularly troubling times… in the Middle East and now all through the West as well. I am someone who lives on the edge of both worlds. So perhaps that’s why I can feel so acutely how freedom has become a daily battle for us all. It’s a global issue and struggle,” she stated in a director’s note.
She adds, “Trapped by conventions that do not suit them, this modest and courageous woman and this vulnerable man are fighting against an entire society. Their love itself is a defiant gesture, a middle finger even. But everything has its price.”
The film is produced by Nadia Turincev at Paris-based Easy Riders Films and Omar El Kadi and Georges Schoucair at Abbout Productions, alongside coproducers Arab Radio and Television Network and Rise Studios. The project is also associated with Les Films Pelléas, Reborn Studio, and Arte Kino Productions 22.
Only Rebels Win will be internationally distributed by Rome-based Fandango Sales.
