Born in 1972 in Stockholm to a Swedish mother and an Egyptian father, Tarik Saleh first made a name for himself in the 1980s as one of the Swedish capital’s most famous graffiti artists.He went on to direct several documentaries, notably Sacrificio: Who Betrayed Che Guevara ? (2001, in collaboration with Erik Gandini) and Gitmo: The New Rules of War (2005). He made his feature film debut with the animated film Metropia (2009).
In 2017, The Nile Hilton Incident brought him international recognition: the film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. In France, after winning the Grand Prix at the Beaune Festival for Film-Policier, attracting more than 400,000 cinema-goers. It was subsequently nominated for the César Award for Best Foreign Film and won eight Guldbaggen Awards (the Swedish equivalent of the César), including Best Film and Best Actor for Fares Fares. In 2022, Cairo Conspiracy, winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival, totalized more than 500,000 admissions.
His last film, Eagles of the Republic, and third of his Cairo trilogy was screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The film tells the story of George Fahmy, Egypt’s most adored actor, who is forced by the authorities to play President Sissi in a film glorifying the leader.
Filmography : Eagles of the Republic (2025), Cairo Conspiracy (2022), The Nile Hilton Incident (2017)
