Weeks before the Egyptian revolution, a police officer in Cairo’s corrupt system, investigates a murder. What seems to be a crime of passion turns into something that concerns the elite of Egypt. A film by Tarik Saleh, starring Fares Fares, Mari Malek, Yaser Maher, Mohamed Yousry, Ahmed Seleem, Hania Amar, Rebecca Simonsson, Ger Duany, and Slimane Dazi.

A political crime thriller written and directed by Swedish filmmaker Tarik Saleh, inspired by the real-life murder case of the Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim in 2008. The film follows the investigation of a police detective as he uncovers a web of corruption and political intrigue.

Police Commander Noredin Mostafa (Fares Fares) is summoned by Police General Kammal Mostafa (Yaser Maher) to investigate the murder of an unidentified, beautiful woman at a hotel. The crime scene suggests a crime of passion, but his subordinate, Momo (Mohamed Yousry), recognizes that she bears a striking resemblance to the popular singer Lalena. Noredin searches the victim’s belongings and discovers a large sum of cash in her purse. He stealthily steals the cash and a photo processing lab drop-off receipt.

The matter of the case becomes more complicated when Police General Kammal tells Noredin that it is very sensitive. Noredin is unable to find the name of the guest who reserved the room from the hotel manager, who claims that the room is a special kind of reservation that only the owner of the hotel, Hatem Shafiq (Ahmed Seleem), knows. When Noredin requests to talk to Salwa (Mari Malek), the housekeeper who first discovered the body, he is told that she has been let go by the hotel. The hotel does not know her full name or address, as she was only paid on a daily basis.

Police Commander Noredin Mostafa and his subordinate, Momo, visit Clinton (Ger Duany), a Sudanese refugee. They confiscate his identification papers and promise to return them when he delivers the Sudanese girl who used to work at the Hilton Hotel. However, when Clinton realizes that Salwa is the witness to a murder case involving Egypt’s elite, he decides to pursue his own agenda, hoping to earn easy money by blackmailing the elite.

Noredin follows a lead on his own to the photo lab indicated on the drop-off receipt he found. There, he discovers a set of private photos of the victim, Lalena (Rebecca Simonsson), and Hatem Shafiq. However, when he gets back to the police station, Police General Kammal orders him to drop the Hilton case upon the prosecutor’s request, to close it as a suicide.

THE NILE HILTON INCIDENT is a stylish and suspenseful noir crime detective film that takes viewers on a thrilling journey through the web of lies and deceptions of Egypt’s dark political underbelly. No one is clean in this story, and it is a matter of how deep they are willing to go into the spiral of corruption. Fares Fares delivers an amazing performance, as do the rest of the supporting cast. The script is sharp and engrossing, with a twist that will leave viewers guessing until the very end.

THE NILE HILTON INCIDENT premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2017. It was theatrically released in France on 5 July, and was released in Sweden on 29 September.

The film received eight nominations at Guldbagge Awards, and won in five categories, including Best film (Bästa film), Best Actor in a leading role (Bästa manliga huvudroll — Fares Fares), Best Costume Design (Bästa kostym — Louize Nissen), Best Sound Editing (Bästa ljud/ljuddesign — Fredrik Jonsäter), and Best Art Direction (Bästa scenografi — Roger Rosenberg)

The Guldbagge Awards (Guldbaggen) is an official and annual Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a rose chafer, better known by the name Guldbaggen. The awards, first presented in 1964 at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm, are overseen by the Swedish Film Institute. It is described as the Swedish equivalent of the Academy Awards.