JOSEF AKIKI
actor

Josef Akiki was born in Lebanon in 1994. After studying cinema, he embarked on a theatre training at the Lebanese University.

His professional career includes: La Aala wa Aasa directed by Mohammad Dayekh and Al Zifaf, Caroline Hatem’s adaptation of The Wedding by Brecht (2019). His role as Saadoun in The Dictator by Issam Mahfouz, directed by Hassan Mouhieddine, won him the prize for Best Actor at the Alexandria Theatre Festival (2019)

In 2022, he performed the lead role in Al Aadiloun, an adaptation of Albert Camus' The Right Assassins, directed by Caroline Hatem, which he co-translated to the Lebanese dialect as well. The play toured in Beirut, and in the Bekaa, notably in Baalbeck in the Roman temple of Bacchus. That same year, he co-translated and performed a solo performance, Transit Tripoli, freely adapted from the novel Transit by Anna Seghers. The play opened at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, in partnership with the Schaubühne Theatre.

Josef has also appeared in several television series – broadcasted as well on the Shahed platform - including Taghyir Gaw, directed by Miriam Aboul Aouf, Aal Hadd (2022), directed by Layla Rajha, where he holds a leading role along with the great Syrian actress Soulafa Maamar, and more recently in Wa akhiran (2023), directed by Oussama Abdel Nasser, where he played another leading role along with Mona Wassef and Koussay Khawly.

In cinema he’s performed in several short films among which Obsession, directed by Marion Saouda, Capstone, directed by Tarek Al Majzoub, Clair de lune, directed by Jean-Paul Zgheib and On the edge, directed by Nour Al Moujabber. In 2022, he had a main role in the feature film Al Hayba (2022, directed by Samer El Berkawi), based on the eponymous cult series and released in more than 15 countries and a few films like : Joy (dir. Hassiba Fraiha & Kenton Oxley), Le quatrième mur (dir.David Oelhoffen), Berlin blast (dir.Christian Stahl) and 125 (dir. Caroline Labaki).