The setting of the film Cairo Conspiracy is Al-Azhar, the legendary and prestigious university of Islamic studies located in Cairo. Despite this, it could not be shot in Egypt, since the director of the film, the Swede of Egyptian origin Tarik Saleh, has been prohibited from entering the country since 2015.
In a kind of Muslim version of The Name of the Rose adapted to the 21st century, Conspiracy in Cairo tells the story of Adam (Tawfeek Barhom), a humble son of a fisherman who enters the epicenter of Sunni Islam: the university of Al -Azhar. Upon arrival, the Grand Imam who runs the institution is killed, and Adam finds himself in the middle of a relentless power struggle between the country’s religious and political elites.
“Right now, in Egypt, religion speaks to the hearts of the people, and the people in power will always try to control everything that moves people,” the director, known for films like Cairo Confidential, The Contractor, told La Vanguardia. and The Metropy. The film shows, according to Saleh, how political power affects issues that should be immune, such as religion. In his film, he criticizes influential people who exploit Islam for their own interests.
His dual nationality, he explains, has been a source of confusion for him since he was a child: “In Sweden, where I grew up, people asked me where I was from. I got tired of answering, because when I said I was Swedish they asked me: but, what where are you really?” It was during the Gulf War that Saleh began to defend his Arab identity: “At that time, Arabs were seen as inhuman. I had to choose between pretending not to be or defending myself; I chose to defend myself,” says the filmmaker.
Conspiracy in Cairo conquered the Cannes Film Festival last year, where Saleh won the award for best screenplay. Regarding the reaction of the Egyptian public, the director is not worried: “I used to work as a journalist, and my work philosophy was to inform without considering the consequences that this might entail.” But the Swedish filmmaker affirms that he does not seek to provoke with his work: “I do not want to yell at them, I already did that when I was younger. Over time I have learned that if you want to say something dangerous it is better to say it in a calm voice, because it is easier that way let people listen.”
Saleh undertook an extensive research process to find out about Al-Azhar University, although he already knew part of the history because his grandfather attended it. For the theological aspects of the film, the director tells that he worked with an imam: “It was very important for me to have these conversations with him, I took the opportunity to ask him things that no one dares to ask him.”
The important role that this institution plays for people is portrayed in the film: “I think it has so much power thanks to its constant and permanent nature. When the world undergoes a lot of changes, people tend to gravitate towards the permanent,” he says the swedish director
Even being a bit removed from the reality of the film, the Swedish director felt an urgency to tell this story: “In Egypt -he concludes- it is impossible to even consider making a film like this, they could send you to prison. I have reached a point where my career where I want to tell a story that wouldn’t be told if I didn’t.”
