Bassam Kousa
A prominent film and television actor in the Arab world, Bassam Kousa is known for his unconventional roles and his willingness to push the boundaries.
Born in Aleppo, Syria on November 7, 1963, Kousa broke into the public consciousness with a string of prominent roles in Syrian TV shows such as ‘Ayyam Shamiyah’.
One of his most popular roles was on ‘Bab Al Hara’, one of the most-watched TV shows in the Arab region. Although he only appeared in the first season of the show, his character, Idaghshiri, became instantly identifiable to an audience stretching from Gaza to the Arabian Gulf.
Kousa has also acted in a number of feature films, including Usama Muhammad’s ‘The Box of Life’, which was screened at the 2002 Cannes Festival winning the Un Certain Regard award.
In 2010, Kousa won the prestigious Adonia award, Syria’s version of the Emmys, for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in ‘Wara’a al Shams’. In the show, Kousa plays a man struggling with autism, a controversial role that has raised eyebrows in a traditionally conservative region.
A passionate supporter of the Arab film industry, Kousa has called for a shift in perceptions in the Arab world, with a number of people still considering acting as an ‘immoral’ profession. He has said that in order to change perceptions, cultural establishments in the public and private sectors should cooperate to raise awareness on art as a form of entertainment and enlightenment.
During a recent visit to Amman, he was honoured by the Royal Film Commission, who screened three of his films.
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 0.7705 |
| Birthday | 1954-11-07 |
| Place of Birth | Aleppo, Syria |
| Also Known As |
1993
The Extras
5.556/9
Salem dreams of being an actor but is still working in a gas station, only his love for Nada can make things easier for him.
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The Extras
1998
The Straner's Dust
7/1
The biopic of 19th century Syrian scholar Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi who battled against the injustice in Syria during the downfall of the Ottoman Empi...
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The Straner's Dust
1997
Breeze of the Soul
0/0
A love story grows between a young man and a girl, there is a second person who loves the girl, and for her he tries to hang himself, so the lovers de...
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Breeze of the Soul
2017
Solitaire
7.1/9
Therese, the mayor's wife in a Lebanese village, joyfully prepares for an overnight visit of her daughter's suitor and his parents. She excitedly shar...
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Solitaire
1993
Something Is Burning
0/0
After the 1967 setback, Abu Ramzi is displaced from the Golan with his family, and he is tired in order to secure a livelihood and his wife who works...
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Something Is Burning
1995
That Which Remains
6.9/7
Based on Ghassan Kanafani's novel, 'Returning to Haifa,' this film, set in 1967, centres on a Palestinian couple who return to the war-torn city to se...
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That Which Remains
1998
Sarab
0/0
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Sarab
2002
Sacrifices
6.889/9
As an elderly man on his deathbed looks to give his name to one of his newborn grandsons, he's unable to acknowledge any of them. The three boys grow...
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Sacrifices
1988
Nights of The Jackal
6/5
Syria, 1967, rumors of war. Abu Kamel, a peasant who farms tomatoes near Latakia, bullies his family. One by one, each rebels against him or finds a r...
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Nights of The Jackal
1995
Rising Rain
0/0
Sabah is a creative writer who goes through the complexities of life in a city that pushes its children from its center to its outskirts where expatri...
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Rising Rain
1983
The Half-Metre Incident
9/2
A journey in the world of the little employee Sobhi Halogi, a conservative, conservative woman, occupies the axis of his thinking. He seems to be an o...
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The Half-Metre Incident
2006
The Penguin
0/0
A young woman lives alone in isolation in her home and experiences many events inside her imagination or in her dreams; however, the only real thing i...
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The Penguin
2008
العشاق
0/0
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