Ramzi Salti's Arabology

Boy from Heaven (Arabic title ولد من الجنة) is one of very few recent films that have dared to address the increasing tension between religion and state in Egypt today--a fact that was explained by Director Tarik Saleh's comment at Cannes in which he stated that “Egyptians who live in Egypt cannot tell the story. It’s impossible to do so.” Saleh, a Swedish citizen now, took a risk in making this film and, judging from the response that he received at Cannes this year, his efforts seem to have paid off. Tawfeek Barhom as Adam in  Boy from Heaven The setting is Al-Azhar Mosque/University in Cairo is known as "the Seat of all Muslim Learning"--but the film was actually in shot in Istanbul. This new location allowed Saleh to film truly gorgeous and powerful scenes, settings, characters and colors--beautifully edited and interwoven so as to capture and retain the attention of the audience throughout the film (which runs over 2 hours). Tarik Saleh's  Boy from Heaven : Off

The Blue Caftan   (2022) is one of the most moving films I have ever seen, not only in terms of Arabic films but as a global cinematographic gem.   Lubna Azabal (left) and and Saleh Bakri in  The Blue Caftan Directed by Maryam Touzani  (who wrote and directed the unforgettable Moroccan film Adam  two years ago) this film takes on the topic of gay men who, all too often in certain societies, get married to a woman who, sadly, becomes victimized twice over--once by society and once by her troubled husband who cannot reveal the secret of his torment to her. Lubna Azabal (left) and and Saleh Bakri in The Blue Caftan Unlike most such narratives, however, The Blue Caftan spotlights the often dismissed feelings of the wife's feelings in such situations; her experience, for once, transcends her attempt to coexist and/or completely reject her husband's secret love.  Her pain, her view, her empathy--even her flaws--are all brought to the forefront here,  She matters in this film and we