The Inheritance

Inheritance is a 2012 drama film directed by and starring Hiam Abbass in her feature film directorial debut. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival and Haifa International Film Festival. Plot A Palestinian family living in a small Muslim village in Galilee gathers to celebrate the wedding of one of their daughters, as war rages between Israel and Lebanon. Its many members symbolise a community struggling to maintain its identity, torn between modernity and tradition. In the midst of it all is a forbidden love story between the youngest daughter, Hajar (Hafsia Herzi), who has returned from studying abroad, and her Christian lover (Tom Payne). When their father falls into a coma and inches toward death, internal conflicts explode and the familial battles become as merciless as the outside war. Cast Hafsia Herzi as Hajar Hiam Abbass as Samira Yussef Abu Warda as Khalil Ashraf Barhom as Ahmad Ruba Blal as Saada Clara Khoury as Salma Makram Khoury as Abu Majd Khalifa Natour as Majd Tom Payne as Matthew Lina Soualem as Alya Mouna Soualem as Lana Ali Suliman as Marwan Ula Tabari as Zeinab G. A. Wasi as Cousin Ali Production Abbass has stated: "Generally, when you are speaking about Palestinians, you think of them in Ramallah, or the refugees in Syria. Instead I wanted to tell this important part of society: the Palestinians of Israel, who feel partially excluded from the country in which they live, which is why they try and preserve their identity through a strong family structure which makes them feel at home."