« I can say that cinema saved me. »
 

PostED ON 16.10.2025

Tarik Saleh explains both his vision of cinema, and his own cinema.

© Olivier Chassignole

Genre cinema

I see everything through the prism of genre films. My personal life is an absurd comedy full of suspense. When I direct a film, I commit to transporting viewers into a universe they don't know. Genre cinema is perfect for that! I've always loved cinema. I had a difficult childhood and I can say that cinema saved me. It gave me hope, dreams.

Egyptian revolution

The Nile Hilton Incident is based on a true story. Real estate magnate (akin to an Egyptian Trump), Talaat Moustafa, had an affair with a Lebanese singer whom he had murdered. Despite his friendship with President Hosni Mubarak, Moustafa was prosecuted. His trial received massive coverage; the entire country was riveted. I began writing a screenplay in 2009 that didn’t exactly include a happy ending, showing a revolution sweeping the country. In Egypt, no one believed that a revolution was possible. And when it was actually underway, I rewrote the ending of the screenplay because the real revolution was much better than the one I had imagined!

© Olivier Chassignole

Fares Fares, his go-to actor

He’s  an incredible actor and so brave, always charging ahead! He is also capable of infinite transformation. People always say that actors act, but that's not true; they just are. In Fares's eyes, you can see that his heart has been broken, permanently. Even when he is happy, his heart is sad. And then he became a friend; we have known each other for over twenty years. 

Eagles of the Republic

When General el-Sisi staged a coup d’état in Egypt in 2013, the army took control of the broadcasting and cinema industries. One of the first projects he undertook was to make a television series about his rise to power. And to play him, they obviously chose a tall, handsome actor, Yasser Galal. But in real life, el-Sisi is bald and only 1.66 metres (5’4”) tall! It's a bit like me asking Brad Pitt to play me in a biopic about my life!

Reported by Laura Lépine