Ziad Bakri is a Palestinian actor and director who has made a significant impact in the film industry. His most notable work is the film SCREWDRIVER, which gained immense recognition and accolades at various prestigious film festivals. SCREWDRIVER was nominated for Best Film at the Venice International Film Festival, Malmo Arab Film Festival, and El Gouna Film Festival, and it ultimately won Best Film at the International Festival of Mediterranean Cinema in Montpellier (Cinemed) and the Bosphorus Film Festival.
In addition to his work on SCREWDRIVER, Ziad also starred in the French-Greek film THE BLIND SUN, which screened at several prominent international film festivals. For his outstanding performance in THE BLIND SUN, Ziad won the Best Actor award at Fantasporto.
In recent years, Ziad has appeared in several notable films. In 2022, he starred in the Netflix film THE WEEKEND AWAY, and in 2023, he starred in the Italian film PROFETI, directed by Alessio Gremonini, who won the Best Screenplay award at the Golden Globes, Italy. The film also starred Donato Demita and Marco Horanich.
Ziad has also been involved in several other projects, including THE STRANGERS' CASE, directed by Brandt Anderson, whose film REFUGEE won the Jury prize at the French Rivera Film Festival. The film also stars Omar Sy, Yasmine Al Massri, and Angeliki Papoulia.
Moreover, Ziad is set to appear in THE SAND CASTLE, directed by Emmy-nominated director Matty Brown and starring Nadine Labaki and child Zain Al Rafeea, who collaborate for the second time after their film CAPERNAUM, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.
Apart from his acting work, Ziad is also a filmmaker. He wrote and directed the short film THE SALT FISHERMAN, which played at the Dubai International Film Festival (2011) and earned him a Best Director nomination.
