Samer Bisharat

EARLY LIFE

Samer Bisharat was born on January 14, 1996, in Nazareth, Israel, into a Palestinian family. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Nazareth and graduated from the Catholic high school San Giuseppe. He began acting at a very young age, participating in short films from around age seven. At approximately 12 years old, he appeared in the award-winning short film Tormus, directed by Sari Bisharat and produced by the Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem; the short won Best Short Film at the New York Short Film Festival. He also studied music at Bait Al Mouseeqa in Shefa-‘Amr (Shefaram) and plays the oud at a professional level. After high school, he moved to the United States to train formally in acting at the New York Film Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

CAREER

Bisharat’s breakthrough came at age 16–17 with the role of Amjad in Hany Abu-Assad’s Omar (2013). The film competed in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival (where it won the Jury Prize) and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Amjad is one of a trio of childhood friends drawn into resistance and its consequences under occupation. He followed this with international work, including a role in the French film The Aquatic Effect (L’effet aquatique, 2016) by Sólveig Anspach and Jean-Luc Gaget, which screened in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Other notable film credits include: Let It Be Morning (Et il y eut un matin, 2021, directed by Eran Kolirin) as Aziz — selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes Huda’s Salon (2021, Hany Abu-Assad) as Said — world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival A Gaza Weekend (2022, Basil Khalil) Behind the Mountains (Les Ordinaires / Par-delà les montagnes, 2023, Mohamed Ben Attia) — world premiere at the Venice Film Festival Additional projects such as An Orange from Jaffa (as Mohammed) and Chronicles from the Siege (as Youssef, 2026) On television, he has appeared in high-profile series including: The Looming Tower (Hulu, 2018) as Khallad (Walid bin Attash) opposite Jeff Daniels — Emmy-nominated miniseries The State (2017, Peter Kosminsky) as Abu Sahl Netflix’s Love, Life & Everything in Between (2022) as Labib Shahid’s Flight 442 The Palestinian Ramadan series El Mahatta (2025) He has also worked on shorter projects and pilots such as Secret Believers. Bisharat’s work frequently engages with themes of identity, conflict, resistance, and everyday life under occupation, spanning Palestinian independent cinema and international co-productions. He was selected for Berlinale Talents (2023 edition).

PERSONAL LIFE

Bisharat keeps his personal life largely private. He is fluent in Arabic and English. In addition to acting, he maintains a strong connection to music through the oud.

Samer Bisharat is represented in professional circles connected to MAD Solutions / MAD Rising and continues to balance film, television, and his musical practice. His early start and consistent presence in festival-circuit films have established him as a recognized face in contemporary Palestinian and Arab cinema.