After being split apart in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, the family came back together in the Palestinian village of Deir Hanna. From here, Abbass fled to Paris to pursue acting, saying she felt suffocated. So Soualem grew up speaking French and only knew a little Arab from her mother. Her only awareness of this side of her family was from visiting Die Hemme to see her grandmother, Nemat Tabari Abbas. Using old photos, journals, and archival footage of pre-war Tiberius, the filmmaker sheds light on what the past for the women in her family looked like. Featuring interviews as well as amusing reenactments with her mother and sisters, Soualem gives form to the ties that still bind these women together despite all the separations.
I came into Bye Bye Tiberias utterly oblivious to its subject matter. In the pop culture sector where I hang my hat Tiberias is the middle name of Captain Kirk. I also have only come in on the tail end of Abbass’ long acting career with her work in Blade Runner 2049 and the Hellraiser reboot. Lucky for me, the director builds everything from the ground up as she has to piece the story together from her perspective as a tot. As a toddler, she liked the lake, as well as bubble gum. Only as an adult can she see how she brought together her estranged mother and grandmother as a child. The pivotal moments of her mother’s journey back to what she left are captured with remarkable clarity. The way the layers unfold keeps the audience on track and preserves the structure of the historical document being crafted. The only thing I came away wanting was more insight into Soualem herself. The filmmaker is unusually adept at not soaking the production with her personality. However, it is hard to gauge the emotional impact when it is done with so much objectivity. While the women in her family have full portraits, the director only allows the viewer to interact with her personally as a small child. The rest of the time, she is wearing her filmmaker hat, and I am not sure that was the best approach. As it is, we have access to all the discoveries she has made about her family but none of her personal reactions or how her history fits in. Not to encourage self-indulgence, but Soualem also needed some skin in this game. In the end, this is a deeply emotional film, one that I have to applaud Abbass for having the guts to do. Allowing moments like what she went through to be shown to everyone and anyone shows a bravery mirrored by the women who came before her. I just wish more light was shed on the woman who came after. Bye Bye Tiberias is a powerful portrait of how broken things come back together over and over. Bye Bye Tiberias screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
