Director Tarik Saleh
Award-winning thriller: “The Cairo Conspiracy”
Adam (Tawfeek Barhom) gets caught between the fronts of the religious and political elites in Egypt. photo
© -/Atmo – X Rental AG/dpa
In “The Cairo Conspiracy” director Tarik Saleh provides insights into a world that many cinema viewers may be unfamiliar with. It goes to the heart of Sunni Islam.
In his films, director Tarik Saleh deals with the power structures in Egypt. That is where the family of the 51-year-old Swede comes from. His latest work “The Cairo Conspiracy” is also about it.
Last year, the thriller won the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival. In breathless scenes, Saleh tells the story of a young man named Adam, who gets caught between the fronts of the religious and political elites in Egypt.
Adam (Tawfeek Barhom), son of a humble fisherman, gets a scholarship to study at the famous Al-Azhar University in Cairo – the most important institution of Sunni Islam. Shortly after Adam’s arrival, the Grand Imam who runs Al-Azhar and is considered Egypt’s highest Islamic cleric dies.
A power struggle ensues
A power struggle breaks out over his successor. The secret service wants to appoint a pro-government successor, a group of students close to the Muslim Brotherhood, their preferred sheikh.
The unsuspecting Adam is recruited by the secret service as an informant and is supposed to infiltrate the Muslim Brotherhood at the university. At some point he realizes that neither the secret service nor his fellow students shy away from extremes.
“The Cairo Conspiracy” impresses above all with its unusual setting. The film gives an insight into a world that may be unknown to many. Saleh also manages to maintain a high level of suspense throughout. The question of what happens to Adam and whether he manages to free himself from the clutches of the various sides occupies you until the end.
The Cairo Conspiracy, Sweden 2022, 121 minutes, FSK 12+, by Tarik Saleh, with Tawfeek Barhom, Fares Fares, Mehdi Dehbi
information about the movie