The elite worlds of higher education, religion and government collide in dramatic and suspenseful fashion in Swedish-Egyptian director Tarik Saleh’s Cairo Conspiracy. Adam comes from a family of modest means in a coastal Egyptian village. When he receives a letter of admission to Al-Azhar University—a prestigious institution of Islamic studies—he sees it as a great opportunity. Shortly after his matriculation, however, the university’s Grand Imam suddenly passes away, setting off a high-stakes power struggle to find his replacement. Cairo Conspiracy follows the shy and uncertain Adam as he becomes inexorably swept into the sinister power-play machinations to elect a new Grand Imam. On the one hand, fundamentalist factions at the university want to elect a conservative religious leader; on the other, the Egyptian government wants to intervene to install an Imam who shares the government’s views. Adam is recruited by Ibrahim, a government official, to spy on the University’s most secret inner workings. Adam soon finds himself caught in the crosshairs of dangerous intrigue as he bluffs his way into the university’s extremist circles while simultaneously navigating a menacing state bureaucracy. Winner of the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival, Cairo Conspiracy is both thrilling and thoughtful; it’s as much a taut political thriller as it is an intelligent critique of the excesses of government and organized religion alike.
This film is part of the Wisconsin Film Festival. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.