‘Sheikh Jackson’ reflects Salama’s past

CAIRO - 26 September 2017: Last weekend, Amr Salam’s newest film "Sheikh Jackson" premiered in the opening of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) revealing that the film is Salama's confrontation with his past.

"Sheikh Jackson" is an Egyptian film written and directed by Salama that story tells the inner struggle of a religious Sheikh who buried his deep love for the pop sensation Michael Jackson.

In the film, Khaled, the main character which is played by Ahmed al-Fishawy, reflects on his daunted past that keeps him from his full devotion to God. Khaled served as a representation of both Salama and Fishawy who sprung from religious upbringings, and through the film Salama was able to come to peace with the person he once was and the person he is today.

In the Q&A session that followed the second screening for the film, Salama shared: “There is one scene in the movie where the character, Khaled, talked about burying old bodies. That scene portrays the relationship between myself and my old self.”

Because the film projects the struggle of a religious sheikh, some wondered how Salama expects the film to resonate with the religious community. His response was, “I strongly believe that the film will not provoke the religious community, because in cinema, Islamists are portrayed as either hypocrites or terrorists. This is the first film that humanizes them.”

"Sheikh Jackson" has received its first ever premiere at the Toronto Film Festival 2017 in the Special Presentations category. The film has also been nominated for the 90th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.