Boy From Heaven

A gripping thriller about the complicated and corrupt relationship between religion and politics in Egypt.

Adam grows up in a religious home in smalltown in Egypt. One day he receives a government funded scholarship to study at the prestigious university – and leading Sunni institution – Al Azhar in Cairo. Adam is looking forward to moving to the capital and immersing himself in his religion, but a short time after the first term has begun, the head imam of the university dies, and Adam is unwillingly drawn into a dangerous political and religious power struggle.

In a similar way as in the director’s previous film, The Nile Hilton Incident (2017), Tarik Saleh has put together a riveting exploration of the complicated and corrupt relationship between religion and politics in Egypt. Boy from Heaven is partly told as a spy thriller and part coming-of-age story, and as in The Nile Hilton Incident Saleh draws inspiration from conventional film genres to tell a complex and powerful story. The film premiered in the main competition section of the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it won the award for best script.

«It is an engrossing tale, full of betrayal and chicanery, and it casts the Egyptian political-military complex and the religious hierarchy as riddled with corruption.» – Michael O'Sullivan, The Washington Post

The screening of BOY FROM HEAVEN on Thursday the 16th at 8.30pm in Vika 3 will not have a Q&A with the director after the screening.

Director

Tarik Saleh (f.1972) grew up in Stockholm, Sweden. He is a director, and the co-owner of the production company Atmo. Saleh has directed the documentary Gitmo together with Erik Gandini, directed music videos with artists like Lykke Li, the animation film Metropia, and feature films like Tommy from 2014 and The Nile Hilton Incident in 2017

This film is part of