Hatem Ali, the Syrian filmmaker and director of hit TV shows, has died at the age of 58, according to multiple local news reports citing family confirmation.
Ali graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus in 1986 before first moving into acting and then into directing in the 1990s.
He was noted for helming works that depicted Arab history, such as his 2000 three-parter Al-Zeer Salem, as well as his projects about Muslim conqueror Salaheddin and the rise and fall of Muslim Andalusia.
His 31-episode drama The Palestinian Exodus (Al-Taghreba al-Falastenya), shot entirely in Syria, told the story of how some 700,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes during the creation of Israel.
On the feature side, his 2009 pic The Long Night, about three political prisoners who are released from a Syrian prison after a long time and try to adjust to freedom, debuted at the Chicago International Film Festival...
Ali graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus in 1986 before first moving into acting and then into directing in the 1990s.
He was noted for helming works that depicted Arab history, such as his 2000 three-parter Al-Zeer Salem, as well as his projects about Muslim conqueror Salaheddin and the rise and fall of Muslim Andalusia.
His 31-episode drama The Palestinian Exodus (Al-Taghreba al-Falastenya), shot entirely in Syria, told the story of how some 700,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes during the creation of Israel.
On the feature side, his 2009 pic The Long Night, about three political prisoners who are released from a Syrian prison after a long time and try to adjust to freedom, debuted at the Chicago International Film Festival...
- 12/30/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Hatem Ali, the influential Syrian multi-hyphenate whose hit historical TV dramas provided collective insight across the Arab world on the roots and complexities of the region’s turbulence, died on Tuesday at 58.
The cause of death, which took place in a Cairo hotel, was a heart attack, according to multiple Middle East news reports.
Born in 1962 in Syria’s Golan Heights, the strategic region occupied by Israel in 1967, Ali started out writing short stories and plays in which he also performed. In 1986 he graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus with an acting degree.
After starting out in showbiz as an actor, Ali segued into directing during the 1990s helming several made-for-tv feature films, including “The Long Night,” a potent drama about the lives of three dissidents released from a Syrian prison after 20 years of incarceration that in 2009 won the top prize at Italy’s Taormina Film Festival.
The cause of death, which took place in a Cairo hotel, was a heart attack, according to multiple Middle East news reports.
Born in 1962 in Syria’s Golan Heights, the strategic region occupied by Israel in 1967, Ali started out writing short stories and plays in which he also performed. In 1986 he graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus with an acting degree.
After starting out in showbiz as an actor, Ali segued into directing during the 1990s helming several made-for-tv feature films, including “The Long Night,” a potent drama about the lives of three dissidents released from a Syrian prison after 20 years of incarceration that in 2009 won the top prize at Italy’s Taormina Film Festival.
- 12/30/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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