Cherien Dabis

Cherien Dabis is a trailblazing filmmaker and actress. She forged a new genre of Arab American storytelling with her critically acclaimed first feature “Amreeka.” The film world premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and won the coveted FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for a Best Picture Gotham Award, 3 Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Picture, and named one of the Top Ten Independent Films of the Year by the National Board of Review. Dabis made her acting debut in her second feature, 2013 Sundance-opener “May in the Summer," which had its international premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Dabis wrote, directed, produced and starred in her highly anticipated third feature film “All That’s Left of You,” which world premiered to critical acclaim at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and is currently on the festival circuit. An epic drama that traces the story of love and loss across three generations of one Palestinian family, the film will be theatrically released this fall.

Dabis has directed standout episodes of Hulu’s “Ramy” and Netflix’s “Ozark." In 2022, she became the first Palestinian Emmy nominee for her groundbreaking, dialogue-free episode of Hulu‘s “Only Murders in the Building.” Her acting credits include Netflix’s “Mo,” Amazon Prime’s “Fallout” and Tarek Saleh’s “Eagles of the Republic,” which is in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.