This year's opening film is BOY FROM HEAVEN!
Arabic film days will be opened by the political thriller Boy From Heaven. It is a gripping exploration of the complicated and corrupt relationship between religion and politics in Egypt.
Boy From Heaven is directed by Tarik Saleh, the film premiered in the main competition section of the Cannes Film Festival 2022 where it won the award for best script. Saleh has previously released several successful films, such as The Nile Horton Incident and Metropia.
The festival opening takes place on 15. March in Vika movie theater.
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.
Note:
14. February - We will release the tickets to the opening film, and a selection of other films
28. February - We will announce the rest of the program for the festival, and tickets to all films will be available
Festival passes are already available here