Palestinian actor and filmmaker Mohammad Bakri dies at 72 | News from Gaza

The famous director of the documentary “Jenin, Jenin” leaves behind a legacy of artistic resistance.

Renowned Palestinian actor and filmmaker Mohammad Bakri has died in northern Israel, ending a five-decade career that established him as one of the most influential voices in Palestinian cinema.

Bakri died Wednesday at Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya following heart and lung problems, hospital officials said.

His death removes a towering figure whose work directly challenged Israeli narratives and whose decades-long legal battles against censorship became a defining chapter of Palestinian cultural resistance.

The 72-year-old was best known for his 2002 documentary, Jenin, Jenin, which collected testimonies from Palestinian residents following a devastating Israeli military operation in the refugee camp that killed 52 Palestinians.

The film sparked years of controversy in Israel, but elevated Bakri’s status as a creator and would overshadow the rest of his life.

Israeli authorities forbidden the documentary was screened in 2021, with the Supreme Court upholding the ban in 2022, finding it defamatory.

“I intend to appeal the verdict because it is unfair, it neutralizes my truth,” Bakri told the Walla News website at the time.

Five soldiers sued Bakri, and the courts ultimately fined him hundreds of thousands of shekels while ordering the seizure of all copies and removal of online links.

In an interview with the British Film Institute earlier this year, Bakri said: “I don’t view Israel as my enemy… but they view me as their enemy. They view me as a traitor… for making a film.”

Born in 1953 in the village of Bi’ina in the Galilee, Bakri was a Palestinian citizen of Israel who studied Arabic literature and theater at Tel Aviv University. He made his notable film debut at age 30 in Costa-Gavras’ Hanna K, in the role of a Palestinian refugee trying to reclaim his family home.

His role as a Palestinian prisoner in the 1984 Israeli film Beyond the Walls brought him international fame and an Academy Award nomination for producing.

But it was Bakri’s commitment to telling Palestinian stories that defined his career. He has appeared in more than 40 films and has made several documentaries examining the experiences of Palestinians living under occupation and in Israel.

His solo theatrical performance of The Pessoptimist, based on Émile Habibi’s novel about Palestinian identity, has been performed more than 1,500 times around the world and cemented his status as a cultural icon.

Bakri is survived by his wife Leila and his six children, including the actors Saleh, Ziad and Adam, who followed him to the cinema. His funeral took place the same day in Bi’ina.