Walad Min Al Janna / Boy From Heaven

Adam is a fisherman’s son and diligent student of the Koran. The imam of his village procures a scholarship for him to the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo. When the highest-ranking cleric dies in front of his students there, the inexperienced young man finds himself caught in the middle of bitter disputes between religious groups and the government. Everyone is trying to ensure their candidate gets the newly-vacant top position. New plots are continually being hatched in the prayer rooms and dormitories. The Islamic university becomes a scene of deadly intrigue, and since the secret police’s informer was murdered, Adam is forced to become his replacement. Swedish-born director Tarik Saleh uses the genre of the political thriller to explore the politically charged atmosphere in Cairo and the relentless and merciless machinations of both the fundamentalists and the government in their struggles for power. Adam’s moral convictions are put to the test, as is his faith, and he ends up in mortal danger.