Who is Darine Hamze?

Darine Hamze became one of the most talked about Lebanese actresses following the release of “Beirut hotel”, the controversial movie in which she plays the leading role. But who is she?

“Beirut hotel” was banned from being shown in Lebanese movie theaters because it reportedly contained very sensual and erotic scenes. A first for a movie filmed in the land of the cedars. The film drew heavy criticism, especially from religious figures who described it as “pornographic”. Other viewers said the movie was very superficial and revolved around the “hot” scenes.

What makes it more controversial, is that the actress that shows the most “skin” during the movie is none other than Darine Hamze. It’s not common for a Lebanese actress to play a role in which partial nudity and explicit scenes are recurrent. Such films are usually frowned upon by Arab societies, although they are the center of attention behind closed doors.

Darine Hamze is a talented Lebanese actress that graduated in 2004 from London with a Masters in Media Arts from the University of Westminster. She got her Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts from the Lebanese University in 2000. In 2002, she attended film making classes in Columbia University as well as other workshop in the United States.

Her acting career started in local theaters. She appeared in numerous plays alongside veteran actors. She also had a part in singer Fairuz’s play “Sah Al-Nom” during the Baalbeck Festival in 2006. After that, she started appearing in foreign movies gathering praise and awards from around the globe.

The sex scene

Darine Hamze did not appear in previous roles that had such explicit scenes as those that are featured in “Beirut hotel”. The actress did not so far comment on the reactions regarding this issue but just thanked her fans on her Facebook page.

“A great huge Thank you to all of the many inbox mails and comments of appreciation for my performance. I am humbled by all your love 🙂 thank u All truly!”

It comes as no surprise that such scenes have drawn so many reactions. After all, it had to begin somewhere!