Between Heaven and Earth

A sociopolitical drama about a group of strangers stuck in an elevator. Naguib Mahfouz, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, has written the story specifically for the screen. For 90 minutes we are witnesses to what happens inside an immovable elevator filled with characters representing different social classes. The stationary elevator serves as the perfect location to assemble these people that would otherwise never have met, making them all share the same fate. The elevator is the singular location, which makes Between Heaven and Earth a brave and unordinary film. rk

Salah Abu Seif was born in a poor neighborhood in Cairo. Today he is known as the godfather of Egyptian realism and is one of the best-known directors in the Arab world. He has based 17 of his films on Arabic novels and short stories. He is particularly known for adapting many of Naguib Mahfouz’ literary works to the screen.