Karim Rahoma is an Austrian-Egyptian actor, filmmaker and award-winning photographer whose work transcends the boundaries between cinema, photography and visual art. Having spent his career both in front of and behind the camera, he has developed a distinctive artistic voice rooted in authenticity, emotional depth and cinematic storytelling.

He began studying acting at the age of sixteen and has remained devoted to his craft ever since, continually refining his work through professional training, masterclasses and artistic collaborations with internationally acclaimed filmmakers and theatre practitioners. His lifelong commitment to artistic growth reflects his belief that an actor’s education never truly ends. Alongside his work as a performer, Karim has led creative acting workshops for children and adults, including people with physical and intellectual disabilities, using storytelling and performance as powerful tools for creativity, confidence and human connection.

He is currently writing on his first feature film, a deeply personal and largely autobiographical dramedy inspired by his own life. Drawing from lived experience, his work explores identity, belonging, resilience and the quiet poetry of everyday life through emotionally resonant and visually compelling storytelling. Driven by an enduring curiosity for the human condition, Karim approaches every role and every image with the same artistic philosophy: to reveal truth, vulnerability and hope. Whether as an actor, filmmaker or photographer, he is committed to creating stories that resonate across cultures and leave a lasting emotional impact.

Rahoma trained as an actor at the Prayner Konservatorium in Vienna and studied Film Analysis at the Wiener Filmakademie with Michael Haneke. Deeply influenced by a lifelong passion for cinema, his photographic work is shaped by the language of film—approaching every portrait and every frame with the eye of a filmmaker, as if each image were a scene from a film yet to be made.

Filmmakers Link: https://www.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/karim-rahoma

Rahoma’s career, bouncing from Festival de Cannes, Venice Film Festival and the Berlinale IFF in search of his subjects. His remarkably candid photographs of actors such as Robert Redford, Sir Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem speak more as intimate portraits at some of the least intimate moments in the film industry. Each image of his work is in a limited edition of only 10. It is this exclusivity, coupled with his inimitable intuition and craftsmanship, that makes his photos a must-see for any art or film enthusiast. Karim Rahoma is a three-time „Venice Movie Stars Award“ winner.

 „I met Karim a few years ago at the Venice Film Festival when he started attending as a professional photographer. From the very beginning, I was impressed by the quality and originality of his photos. They are not like the usual ones you see reproduced thousands of times in the media … His portraits are not just content to offer the viewer a beautiful representation of a character: they try to reveal its soul. I think that’s the highest praise you can give a portrait photographer. Karim is one of the best“

Alberto Barbera
Director of the Venice Film Festival

Karim Rahoma at the 78th Annual Cannes Film Festival, 2025

Christoph Waltz, Monica Bellucci, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Clint Eastwood and all the others are not just actors on a screen, but people in Rahoma’s pictures. Lost, searching, hoping. In a world saturated with images, Rahoma calls us to take a closer look, to look deeper, to feel, to uncover the true self.

„Karim Rahoma’s natural way of capturing people with the camera is unique. He manages to capture people even in the greatest turmoil, like on the red carpet – which resembles a desert of truth and authenticity
and where the focus is otherwise on perfect staging
in a moment of solitude.
This gives the snapshots a very
impressive emotional depth. As Karim himself is also an
actor himself, he has a unique approach and a
special flair for capturing celebrities„

Stefan Ruzowitzky
Academy Award Winner

Rahoma’s work is an ode to unobserved moments that are often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of glamorous life. As an actor and photographer with a deep understanding of both worlds, he takes us on a journey that spans a wide arc between the artificial, radiant surface and the unadulterated, authentic personality. His images not only show the physical presence of the stars, but also their vulnerability, their dreams, their fears and their triumphs. Rahoma’s camera surprises with the unexpected.

His work is a dance between light and shadow, between the public and the private, between what is shown and what remains hidden. It is by no means mainstream, no inflationary paparazzi. The works are windows into the souls of these icons.

AWARDS:

  *   2013, James Franco, „Nominated for the prize from the public, Venice Movie Stars Award“
  *   2014, Dachi Orvelashvili, „Sezione Fotoritratto 3° classificato“(portrait), Venice Movie Stars Award
  *   2015, Lina Wertmüller, „Sezione Fotoritratto 2° classificato“ (portrait), Venice Movie Stars Award
  *   2016, Sara Serraiocco, „Sezione Fotoritratto 1° classificato“ (portrait), Venice Movie Stars Award

* 2017, „Certificate for Art and Culture“, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Vienna