Rita Hayek

Actress

In today's Beirut, an insult blown out of proportions finds Toni, a Lebanese Christian, and Yasser, a Palestinian refugee, in court. From secret wounds to traumatic revelations, the media circus surrounding the case puts Lebanon through a social explosion, forcing Toni and Yasser to reconsider their lives and prejudices.

Play trailer2:11

The Insult (2017)

Rita Hayek is graduate of the National Institute of Fine Arts of the Lebanese University. She also attended the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in Los Angeles California. She made her screen debut in 2006. In 2011, At the Byblos International Festival, she made her stage debut in Don Quixote, directed by the Rahbani Brothers. Followed by the play "Ka3eb 3ale", an adaptation of "Spike Heels" by Theresa Rebeck directed by Jacques Maroun and produced by The Actors Workshop Beirut. Then came Venus an adaptation of David Yves' Broadway play "Venus in Fur". Venus opened March 2015 at the Monot Theatre in Beirut and played through April 2016. Venus performed in Paris at the Theatre Adyar Avenue Rapp. Rita resumed filming her first Feature "The Insult" in August 2016 with the director Ziad Doueiry (West Beirut-Baron Noir) and the movie premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 2018. Her second feature was "Beirut Hold'em" by Michel Kammoun, Followed by "La Regola d'Oro" by Italian director Alessandro Lunardelli and the Cypriot movie "IMAN" by Corinna Avraamadou and Kyriacos Tofarides, which premiered at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Rita recently won Best Actress for IMAN at the London Greek International Film Festival. Rita has also won best actress for her role in Matthieu Haag's short movies "Un parfum de Liban" in 2012 and "l'Heritage" in 2019. She just resumed filming her first French movie: "Les Barbares" by Julie Delpy alongside Sandrine Kiberlain and Mathieu Demy.