Acting
Nov 6, 1954
Aleppo, Syria
Bassam Kousa
Acting
Biography
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.
Feature Films (13)
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.
The Extras
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 Empire. His efforts actually managed to overthrow the Ottoman viceroy. However, he was banished to Cairo, only to continue his fight there.
The Straner's Dust
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 decide to sacrifice love and happiness to save a human soul, the lover is a simple young man, while the girl is a loving female, mixed in the depths of many worlds of childhood and innocence And intelligence, the girl marries the man she does not like, and by this she has lifted the gallows from his neck, in order to wrap her around her neck.
Breeze of the Soul
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 shares the happy news of the engagement with pictures of her beloved brother who was killed by a Syrian bomb 20 years ago and is still bizarrely present in every corner of her house. Only when the long-awaited guests are at her doorstep, she discovers they are Syrian; this engagement will only happen over Therese's dead body!
Solitaire
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 in sewing helps him. As for the son Ramzi, he dreams of riches quickly and in the easiest way, which drives him to collide with his father, who dreams of a roof that shelter him through halal earnings.
Something Is Burning
Television & Series (48)
Omran the textile merchant wants to marry for love, but he'll face troubles not only from his wives' jealousy but other merchants for his trade ideas.
Souq Al Harir
Essam and Ragaa experience unsolvable problems and disputes over one of Essam's colleagues. These disputes increase to affect their children negatively over time.
Sons of Oppression
Forced to flee Syria with his family after his son accidentally kills a man, Youssef, a reputable judge, soon finds himself faced with hitherto unimaginable choices.
The Stranger
Having spent most of her 20s taking care of her sick mother and her family's household, a sexually repressed woman elopes and has to face the hypocrisies of middle eastern society.
The Age of Shame
This Syrian drama series takes place before the crisis in Syria, focusing on two aristocratic families who appear to love and understand each other. In reality, however, there is a hidden conflict lurking beneath this facade.
