Sheikh Jackson is Egypt's Pick for The Oscars

Egypt’s films were once the best to come out of the Arab world, and Cairo was dubbed the Hollywood of the Middle East. And in recent years we’ve had a few incredible films that turned heads and put Egyptian films back in the lime light.

Sheikh Jackson, Amr Salama’s most recent film, hasn’t even premiered yet and it’s already creating some serious Oscar buzz. Egypt has selected this much-anticipated film as its candidate for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at next year’s Oscars. Salama told the Hollywood Reporter “I’m thrilled and honored to be recognised. My aim was to be honest from the beginning and I wanted to cross borders with this film and subject. I believe we have done just that.”

Sheikh Jackson is set to premier this Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be premiering in the Middle East at the first annual Gouna International Film Festival. Check out the trailer bellow if you haven’t already.