Selected roles

Nora grows up witnessing a country shaped by conflict, caught between the need to remember and the desire to look away. As war becomes personal, an overwhelming loss reshapes her understanding of the world.

Left with her mother, she leaves everything behind in search of a new beginning. Carrying memory, grief and displacement, she navigates a life defined by uncertainty and change. An unexpected encounter with the past asks her to choose between holding on and letting go.

Performance perspectiveThe humanity within Nora’s story drew me to her: its roots in real experiences and the way it challenges perspective. She carries a belief in understanding others beyond their actions, and that shaped the way I approached her.

Fatima is a young woman from Nasiriyah who dreams of building a different life in Baghdad. Alongside a close friend, she moves through the city’s margins, navigating risk while holding on to a sense of possibility.

When violence disrupts everything and she is forced to run alone, she carries grief and survival at once. Her journey becomes one of endurance, learning how to keep moving forward while holding the weight of loss.

Performance perspectiveHer fragile strength at the edge of breaking drew me to her. She carries her dream as everything around her collapses, and that persistence becomes her way of surviving.

Laura is a trained sniper operating within an extremist group, shaped by discipline, control and detachment. Her world is defined by precision and obedience until a single moment disrupts everything she has been conditioned to be.

When she sees a child through her scope, the instinct to destroy is interrupted by an instinct to protect. The moment forces her into an internal conflict she can no longer ignore.

Performance perspectiveThat fracture drew me to Laura: humanity resurfaces in someone built to suppress it. She exists between two states, and the tension between them defines her.

Carla is a U.S. Marine wounded during a mission in Najaf, forced to withdraw with her translator and take refuge in an unfamiliar, volatile space. Trained to see the world in clear divisions, she struggles to hold on to that certainty as her physical strength begins to fail.

As her conditioning clashes with vulnerability, her perception shifts. The boundaries between enemy and human begin to blur, exposing a conflict she can no longer control.

Performance perspectiveThat unraveling drew me to Carla: certainty gives way to something more human. Playing her became an exploration of perspective and a search for empathy within a state of conflict.

Mariam is a quiet, deeply perceptive young woman, more aware than her age suggests. She lives between the fear imposed by her family and a growing curiosity about the world beyond it.

She observes everything and carries it internally. Her experience is shaped by a constant tension between safety and the unknown, where even small moments leave a lasting impact.

Performance perspectiveHer stillness and sensitivity drew me to her. Mariam expresses internal conflict through presence, restraint and subtle emotional shifts.

After theatre actor Salem accidentally insults Saddam Hussein during a performance of Hamlet, he escapes execution by feigning insanity. Sent to a Baghdad psychiatric hospital, he is assessed by Dr. Adyan, whose choice between professional ambition and saving his life leads them to stage a play with the patients—turning performance into an act of survival.

Performance perspectiveAdyan is a committed young psychiatrist whose ambition collides with conscience when Salem’s fate is placed in her hands.

Sarah is driven by a need to uncover truth, even when it places her at risk. Working as a journalist within a corrupt political landscape, she operates with restraint, constantly negotiating what to reveal and what to withhold.

Performance perspectiveHer internal conflict drew me to her. Sarah’s strength is quiet and persistent. She listens more than she speaks and carries tension beneath stillness.

Wasan is an IT graduate working with a group of engineers who use digital tools to confront corruption and hidden power. Moving between ordinary office life and covert operations, she exists in a constant negotiation between control and risk.

Performance perspectiveHer independence in Baghdad drew me to her. She makes her own choices, challenges expectations and believes in doing good while moving through morally ambiguous territory. A quiet defiance and clear sense of purpose drive her forward.

Sa’adya is displaced from Baghdad in the 1990s and taken to Kuwait, where she is forced into a marriage within her extended family. Living in a house shaped by secrets and control, she learns to navigate a world defined by silence and survival.

After being abandoned abroad and losing her child, she returns carrying grief, anger and a growing need for justice. Her journey is shaped by the tension between loyalty and betrayal as she struggles to hold on to herself while everything around her shifts.

Performance perspectiveHer slow transformation drew me to her: pain and circumstance reshape her over time. Among many stories, she is the last to break and the last to change.

Rwayda is a young woman navigating responsibility and loss, caring for her mother and younger sister after the death of her father. Grounded in her reality, she balances her law studies with the weight of supporting her family.

When she falls in love with a man whose life exists far beyond her own circumstances, she faces an impossible choice. Guided by a strong sense of responsibility, she chooses to protect her family at the cost of her own happiness.

Performance perspectiveHer deep connection to reality drew me to her: the ability to endure, stay grounded and continue moving forward. Portraying Rwayda over a long journey was emotionally demanding and deeply formative for me as an actor.

Rabab is a theatre actress in the 1970s, living within a world of performance on and off the stage. Engaged to a fellow actor struggling with addiction, she becomes a steady presence in his life and holds on to a version of him he can no longer see in himself.

Her patience and belief allow her to offer support while preserving her own sense of self. She navigates love, responsibility and the quiet weight of caring for someone who is slipping away.

Performance perspectiveHer devotion drew me to her. Rabab reflects the way we hold on to the people we love, often carrying hope for them until they can find it within themselves.

The first story follows a bride on her wedding day. Celebration is abruptly interrupted when her fiancé is called to fight, and his return transforms a wedding into mourning.

The second centers on a young woman in the Amirli district, left behind as men go to the frontlines. She takes responsibility for defending her home and confronts fear with resilience.

Performance perspectiveTheir closeness to lived memory drew me to these roles. The stories reflect moments that remain deeply present for many Iraqis, and carrying them required honesty, care and respect.

Sama lives with the certainty of an ending already marked by a predetermined fate. She chooses to live fully, embracing each moment with wit, humor and a sense of freedom.

Surrounded by friends facing the same reality, she becomes a source of energy and connection. Together, they attempt to change the course of another life and challenge the control imposed around them.

Performance perspectiveHer lightness in the face of something heavy drew me to her. She carries joy and strength with freedom. Playing her felt personal, a reflection of who I was at that time and a way of preserving it.