Mahmoud Shalaby is a Palestinian actor who lives in Israel. He was a founder of one of the first Palestinian hip hop groups, MWR, who tackled politics and social issues. He appeared in the 2008 documentary Slingshot Hip Hop, directed by Jackie Reem Salloum. The film won many awards at festivals around the world. While he owned a café in the old city of Acre, Mahmoud auditioned for the film Jaffa (a Film Movement release), and landed one of the lead roles. Jaffa was an official selection at the Cannes film festival, and Mahmoud's first role in a feature film. Ismaël Ferroukhi, director of Free Men (a Film Movement release), contacted Mahmoud and cast him as the Algerian Jewish singer Salim Halali. He next starred in A Bottle in the Gaza Sea, based on the critically acclaimed novel by Valérie Zenatti.
Film Movement
