Hiam Abbass at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards. (Photo: AFP)
The Golden Pyramid Award is one of the highest honours presented by CIFF to distinguished figures in Egyptian, Arab, and international cinema.
Honouring Hiam Abbass recognizes her continued efforts to highlight humanitarian and social issues through powerful artistic works that reflect the Palestinian voice and the broader experiences of Arab peoples.
Abbass, a Palestinian actress, writer, and director, is regarded as one of the most prominent Arab artists to have made a significant impact on global cinema.
Born in Nazareth in 1960, she studied photography and theatre in Jerusalem before moving to Paris in the late 1980s.
Since the beginning of her career, she has acted in more than 100 films, portraying a wide range of female characters.
Her career is marked by collaborations with multiple generations of directors, including Rashid Masharawi in Haifa (1996), Elia Suleiman in Divine Intervention (2002), Hany Abu-Assad in Paradise Now (2005), and Tarzan and Arab Nasser in Gaza Mon Amour (2020).
Internationally, she has appeared in major productions such as Steven Spielberg’s Munich (2005), Tom McCarthy’s The Visitor (2007), and Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
Abbass also gained critical acclaim for her television roles in Succession (2018–2023) and Ramy (2019–present).
Beyond acting, she has directed several short films and stage plays. Her first feature film as a director, Inheritance (2012), premiered at both the Venice Film Festival and the Haifa International Film Festival.
CIFF
Founded in 1976, the Cairo International Film Festival is one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in the Arab world and Africa.
It remains the only festival in the region accredited as a Category A event by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) in Paris.
Held annually under the patronage of Egypt’s Ministry of Culture, the festival’s 46th edition will take place from 12 to 21 November 2025.
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