Sweden’s Academy Award submission inagurates Stockholm International Film Festival 2022!

Tariks Saleh’s feature film Boy from heaven (2022) has been selected as the Swedish submission for an Academy Award in the Best International Feature Film category. The film inagurates Stockholm International Film festival the 8th of November.

Boy from Heaven is a political thriller that depicts a brutal power struggle between the religious and political elite in Egypt. We see Tawfeek Barhom as the fisherman boy Adam and a brilliant Fares Fares as the corrupt security officer Ibrahim in the leading roles. The film was awarded Best Screenplay in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it took audiences by storm.

- The Stockholm International Film Festival is my personal favorite of all festivals. This is where I discovered Tarantino and Park Chan-Wok, had conversations with Gus Van Sant and Holly Hunter, partying with Susanne Sarandon, seen masterpieces from Iran and Vietnam. That's why I can't stop smiling when I think about us inaugurating the festival in my beloved hometown, says Tarik Saleh.

The film was largely shot in Istanbul and is a Swedish, French, Finnish and Danish co-production featuring actors from Sweden, Yemen, Russia, Syria, Egypt, France, The Gambia and elsewhere. It has already been sold to more than 50 countries including the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Benelux and the Middle East.

- It's amazing to see that Boy from Heaven have recieved international success in Cannes and will be shown in more than 50 countries. We at the Stockholm International Film Festival are extremely proud to present this year's opening film by one of Europe's leading directors and screenwriters. It is also a great pleasure that both Tarik Saleh and Fares Fares will attend and meet the press at the gala screening on the 8:th of November, says Beatrice Karlsson, Program Director at the Stockholm International Film Festival.

During the Stockholm Industry Days (15-17th November 2022) Saleh will hold a masterclass in script writing.

Boy from heaven will have it's premiere in Swedish theaters at the 18th of November.