title: Inheritance (2012 film)
text: # Inheritance (2012 film)
  
  Inheritance (French: Héritage) is a 2012 drama film directed by and starring Hiam Abbass in her feature film directorial debut. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival and Haifa International Film Festival.
  
  ## Plot
  
  A Palestinian family living in a small Muslim village in Galilee gathers to celebrate the wedding of one of their daughters, as war rages between Israel and Lebanon. Its many members symbolise a community struggling to maintain its identity, torn between modernity and tradition. In the midst of it all is a forbidden love story between the youngest daughter, Hajar (Hafsia Herzi), who has returned from studying abroad, and her Christian lover (Tom Payne). When their father falls into a coma and inches toward death, internal conflicts explode and the familial battles become as merciless as the outside war.
  
  ## Cast
  
  * Hafsia Herzi as Hajar
  * Hiam Abbass as Samira
  * Yussef Abu Warda as Khalil
  * Ashraf Barhom as Ahmad
  * Ruba Blal as Saada
  * Clara Khoury as Salma
  * Makram Khoury as Abu Majd
  * Khalifa Natour as Majd
  * Tom Payne as Matthew
  * Lina Soualem as Alya
  * Mouna Soualem as Lana
  * Ali Suliman as Marwan
  * Ula Tabari as Zeinab
  * G. A. Wasi as Cousin Ali
  
  ## Production
  
  Abbass has stated: "Generally, when you are speaking about Palestinians, you think of them in Ramallah, or the refugees in Syria. Instead I wanted to tell this important part of society: the Palestinians of Israel, who feel partially excluded from the country in which they live, which is why they try and preserve their identity through a strong family structure which makes them feel at home."
  
  