Biography

Mohammad Bakri was born on November 27, 1953 in Bi'ina, Israel. He was an actor and director, known for Since You've Been Gone (2005), Jenin, Jenin (2003) and Blackness (2014). He was married to Leila. He died on December 24, 2025 in Nahariya, Israel.

The Jerusalem International Film Festival of Gaza established in 2020 an award with his name for the Best National Film.

After a few years of acting in Palestinian and Israeli film, Bakri began to act in international films in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and Italy. He also directed two documentary films including Jenin, Jenin.

Mohammad Bakri was a Palestinian actor and film director.

In 2007, five soldiers who fought in the Jenin refugee camp during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 sued the cinematheques in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for screening the film in the midst of the ban, and sued Bakri for 2.5 million NIS for producing the film. In July 2008, Bakri was acquitted of the charges.

He went to elementary school in his hometown and received his secondary education in the nearby city of Akko. He then studied acting and Arabic literature at Tel Aviv University in 1973 and graduated three years later.

Let me tell you about the Palestinian film industry. Very simply, we do not have one. We have some very talented film-makers, but that's about it. We have no film schools and we have no studios. We have no infrastructure because we have no country.