Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
François Abou Salem, (in French: François Abou Salem), born on
October 2, 1951 and died on October 1, 2011, is an actor and director of French
descent. Many thought that he was born to a Palestinian father and a French
mother, but in fact he was born to a French father and mother, his previous
name is François Gaspar, but he changed it to François Abu Salem, grew up in
East Jerusalem, and lived in Beirut and France.
his upbringing
François Gaspard was born in the French town of Provence and
grew up in an artistic environment, as his mother is the French artist Francine
Gaspard and his father is Laurent Gaspard, a French poet and surgeon.
Born into a Hungarian-speaking Catholic family in Transylvania,
Romania, Laurent Gaspard joined the Royal Hungarian Army, which fought
alongside the Germans in World War II, and then joined a group of officers who
sought to sign a peace treaty with the Soviet Union and not fight it. As a
result, he was imprisoned by the Germans, escaped from prison and reached
France, where he was arrested by the American forces for collaborating with the
Germans (as a Hungarian soldier). After the war, Laurent Gaspard stayed in
France and studied medicine. He met Abu Salem's mother, Francine Gaspard, who
was an art student and later worked as a theatrical decorator. At the end of
his studies, Laurent did not obtain a work permit in France, and in 1953 he
moved to Bethlehem, where he got a job at Bethlehem Hospital, after which he
was part of the founding team of St. Joseph Hospital in the Sheikh Jarrah
neighborhood of Jerusalem. François Abu Salem grew up and studied as a child in
East Jerusalem, and it was there that he acquired the nickname “Abu Salem.” He
completed his high school studies in Beirut at the Catholic School of Notre
Dame de Jamhour (Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour) and obtained a French high
school diploma.
In 1967, François was in Jerusalem, carrying both Jordanian and
French passports. However, he lost his Jordanian passport at some point, and
his presence in the country turned into a temporary existence as a tourist who
needed to renew his residency every three months. In 1980, François married
Jackie Lubeck, an American Jew. Lubeck had obtained an Israeli identity card,
and thus his residence in Jerusalem became permanent.
François had a son from his second wife (there is no information
about her), Jamil, and he lives in Belgium.
his career
François studied at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. And he
was acting at this time at the Theater du Soleil in Paris in (1968), François
returned to Jerusalem in the early seventies. Its beginnings were the
establishment of the Belalin Theater Company. Aside from a number of amateur
actors. They released the play “The Darkness” in theaters in Beit Sahour,
Jerusalem, and Ramallah. Together with his wife of 15 years, director Jacqui
Lebeck, François established the Palestinian National Theater The Storyteller
in 1975. In the city of Jerusalem, it is considered today one of the most
important Palestinian theaters. They also worked together and directed seven
plays, in addition to presenting Al-Hadhiro Opera for the Palestinian audience.
In addition to his work as a director and actor, François
transformed the Nuzha Cinema in Jerusalem into the first dramatic theater in
Palestine in the year (1983) and worked as its artistic director. He also
opened a café in the theater (cabaret) in (1978) and directed the artwork “The
White Sect” in (1986) with the actor Doron Tavori, at the Haifa Municipal
Theater. In the same year, he wrote and directed "The Story of
Kfarishma", a work that toured the world for three years. The work reached
Europe, the United States of America, Latin America, and the Arab world.
He co-wrote, directed, and produced many other plays. Such as
the play Searching for Omar Khayyam (1991), Passing by the Crusades (1991),
Saint Ginette Behind the Scenes, The Birds Conference (1992-93), Jericho in the
Year of Safar (1994), City Gates (1995), a documentary film about the city of
Jerusalem. In the same year, he returned to France to write and perform in a
hostel. He directed Mozart's opera "The Abduction from Sargilio" (1997-98).
He won the Palestinian Theater Award in (1988) from Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat. Critics compared Frasno's work to the magical
realistic theater of Gabriel García Márquez. the abstract expressionist theater
of Bertolt Brecht, and the Italian improvisational comedy (Commedia dell'arte)
His works also include: Shams (1999), Carmen, Romeo and Juliet
(2000-2001), Shams and Ko (2000-2001), the rock opera Who Is Crazy? (2002), The
Epic of Gilgamesh (2003) He took a break in 2004 and studied psychology, then
returned to work on a Palestinian version of The Epic of Gilgamesh Part III in
2005. He acted and worked as a production designer in the movie Miral (2010)
his death
François Abu Salem died in Al-Tira, Ramallah, after committing
suicide, after struggling with depression, as told by his friends. The last
play that François worked on before his death is a play in the shadow of the
martyr, directed and written by him, in addition to Paula Fonvik, and
represented by the Palestinian actor and director Wassim Khair.
source
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
: From
To