Norman Issa

Norman Issa
Born	(1967-06-17) 17 June 1967 (age 57) Haifa, Israel
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Gidona Raz
Children	3, including Lear Issa, Shon Issa

Norman Issa (Arabic: نورمان عيسى, Hebrew: נורמן עיסא; born 17 June 1967) is an Arab-Israeli actor, director in cinema, theatre and television.

Biography

Norman Issa was born and raised in Haifa, Israel, to a Maronite Christian-Arab family. He studied acting at Beit Zvi. He is married to Jewish-Israeli playwright Gidona Raz, with whom he has three sons. Lear and Sean Issa are actors. The couple jointly founded the multicultural Elmina Theater in Jaffa, Israel.^[1] They reside in Jaffa.

Theater, television and film career

Issa has acted in many plays by William Shakespeare at the Haifa Theatre and Cameri Theatre. He worked at The Arab-Hebrew Theater together with fellow Arab-Israeli actor Yousef "Joe" Sweid. He was the main protagonist of the Israeli television sitcom Arab Labor, created by Arab-Israeli journalist Sayed Kashua.^[2]

In 2015, Issa refused to perform in a settlement in the Jordan Valley. In response, Israeli Minister of Culture Miri Regev threatened to shut down Israeli government funding to the theater that Issa founded.^[3][4]

Awards and recognition

At the 2016 Haifa International Film Festival, Norman Issa and Moshe Ivgy were awarded the prize for Best Actor in a Feature Film, for The 90 Minute War.^[5]

Filmography

• The Syrian Bride (2004), directed by Eran Riklis
• Arab Labor (2007–present), created by Sayed Kashua
• Ana Arabia (2013), directed by Amos Gitai
• A Borrowed Identity (2014), directed by Eran Riklis
• The 90 Minute War (2016), directed by Eyal Halfon

See also

• Television in Israel
• Israeli cinema

References

1. https://www.mouse.co.il/shows/articles/1.3417076
2. Shani, Ayelett (2013-08-01). "Playing Sayed Kashua: Actor Norman Issa Feels Like the Third Brother of Arabs and Jews". Haaretz. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
3. "Arab Israeli actor Norman Issa refuses to cross the Green Line". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
4. Levy, Gideon (2015-06-11). "The Jewish State Has No More Room for 'Good Arabs'". Haaretz. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
5. "The award winners- Haifa International Film Festival 2016". Haifa International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.