The Nile Hilton Incident

by Tarik Saleh

The Nile Hilton Incident

Synopsis

Noredin, an ordinary corrupt police officer, cruises down the crowded streets in his police car, his partner Momo behind the wheel. Street market stalls line the sidewalks, faintly greenish light illuminates their wares: pirated perfumes and brand-name knock-offs. Vendors salute the slowly passing police cruiser, a few men run up to the window trying to get their complaints heard. Noredin makes the rounds, accepting bribes. These are his streets. It's a protection racket - the payoffs keep the vendors from being harassed by the police themselves. Gangsters in uniform.
- In Tahrir Square, not far away, huge billboards featuring film stars, singers, and president Hosni Mubarak glow white against the yellow-black sky. And there, the colossal structure, more a monument than a hotel, the blue neon sign spelling out in cursive letters: NILE HILTON.
- Inside the hotel, Salwa, 19, just another invisible, undocumented Sudanese member of the housekeeping staff , is maneuvering her cleaning cart down the corridors. It's early morning and she can hear a fight inside one of the rooms. A man's voice and a woman's. Louder. The door opens and a man leaves the room, fiddling with the clasp of his Rolex watch. The woman's voice calls out "You promised!" before the door closes behind him. The man's eyes meet Salwa's, then he looks away.
Noredin is called into the Nile Hilton Hotel. Lalena, a famous singer, is found brutally murdered. When Noredin flips through her receipts, a certain one catches his eyes - a photo developing pick-up receipt.
- It turns out that one of the most powerful business tycoons, Hatem Shafiq, might be involved in the murder. As a personal friend of the president and a member of the parliament, Shafiq has immunity, he belongs to a group called " The Untouchables". What initially seems to be a crime of passion turns into something that concerns the very power elite of Egypt.
- Small protests have begun to break out in various parts of Cairo. But for the moment, the government forces have control over the situation. Forced away from her job, Salwa, decides to take advantage of the situation and escape her misery by blackmailing Shafiq. This sets a bloody game in motion, shedding innocent blood to maintain silence.
- Tensions have reached a breakpoint. As the police clashes with protestors, the revolution hits full swing. The streets are filled with people defying the curfew. When Noredin decides to break the rules to obtain justice, he not only collides with the system, but also with himself.

Director

Tarik Saleh was born 1972 in Stockholm. He and Kristina Åberg are two of the founders of Atmo. His most recent film, TOMMY (2014), was a thriller featuring Moa Gammel, Ola Rapace, and singer/songwriter Lykke Li. Saleh directed and co-wrote METROPIA (2009 Venice International Film Festival), featuring Vincent Gallo, Juliette Lewis, and Stellan Skarsgård, and he has co-directed award-winning documentaries, such as GITMO. Saleh produced the music video I Follow Rivers for Lykke Li, which has had nearly 60 million YouTube views.

FILMOGRAPHY
2016 THE NILE HILTON INCIDENT
2014 TOMMY
2009 METROPIA
2005 GITMO - NEW RULES OF WAR
2001 SACRIFICIO

Cast

Noredin - Fares Fares
Salwa - Mari Malek
General Kamal Mostafa - Yaser Aly Maher
Green Eyed Man - Slimane Daze
Hatem Shafiq - Ahmed Seleem
Momo - Mohamed Yousry
Gina - Hania Amar

Crew

director & scriptwriter Tarik Saleh
producer Kristina Åberg
director of photography Pierre Aim
production designer Roger Rosenberg
editor Theis Schmidt
composer Krister Linder
sound recordist Marc Meusinger
sound design Fredrik Jonsäter
costume designer Louize Nissen
effects supervisor Peter Hjort
first ad Mike Lundin
casting directors Fabien Boitier, Marwa Gabriel
script consultant Magdi Abdelhadi
line producers Alex Corven, Jon Wigfield
co-producers Marcel Lenz, Guido Schwab, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Per Bouveng, Fredrik Zander, Karim Debbagh

production company Atmo

Technical Data

format DCP / 2.39:1 / color / 5.1
length 107 min.
language Arabic and Dinka

The Nile Hilton Incident
The Nile Hilton Incident

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