Shehab Fatoum was born 1994 in Salamiyah, a small syrian city besieged by the deseret and a green valley . Salamiyah is the syrian name of "Salamis", a great battle between Greek and Persians 480 BC. The people in Salamiyah are well-known for communisim, poetry, poverty and belonging to a religious minority.
2011
The uprise begun in the country and the city was an active part of it, Shehab was 17 finishing High-school, but participating the uprise and was significantly influenced and even embossed by it. His first experience in Film when he and his local friend Yassin Almssalakh were 19 and made the short film "Missed" about a young man who lost his ID Card, and later the short film " how I suicided " based on Aziz Nesin's short story about someone who fails suiciding.
Time of WAR
Salamiyah was now besieged by ISIS, Assad's Regime and Rebels which made the city suffers of all sides : of ISIS because of religious beliefs, of some rebels because it's under control of Assad and also of Assad's regime as a punishment, because the city was a part of the uprise. Meanwhile Shehab was mostly in Jaramanah-Damascus, a quarter where sometimes 40 shell missiles were daily falling, which made him stop his studies, but still participate several theatre workshops and Shows, dealt with Pantomime as well as russian theatre early 20th century.
Migration
The situation became more complicated, and as the first russian soliders were entering Syria, he left heading to Europe and settled down coincidentally in Germany. Very soon he was at Theater an der Ruhr and later a member of "theater-spiel" touring around Germany and playing theatre for youth and kids. in 2018 he was accepted at the Folkwang University of Arts in Acting department. he played in many state theatres in the region Ruhrpott and continued making independent films and playing roles in short films beside his study.
Today
In 2022 he graduated and won the Folkwang prize for his graduation project.
Shehab worked sofar in France, Syria, Germany and The Netherlands. His short films won several awards and were screened in several europian filmfestivals and beyond.