Amr Salama's film Sheikh Jackson will be released commercially for one week at the end of September. The film's official release is set for October, and it is being given an early limited release to fulfil Oscar nomination requirements after this week's announcement by the Egyptian Cinema Syndicate that it is being entered for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscar's. A statement issued by one of Sheikh Jackson's producers, Mohamed Hefzy of Film Clinic, said that the film "will not violate the Oscar nomination regulations and its limited commercial release… confirming our commitment to respecting the regulations that we have always followed in the nomination of our previous films." The limited release will come shortly after Sheikh Jackson's Egyptian and Arab world premiere on 22 September at the first Gouna Film Festival, where it is competing in the Feature Narrative Competition. Sheikh Jackson is currently screening at the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival in the Special Presentations programme, competing for the FIPRESCI Award (the prize of the International Federation of Film Critics) and the Audience Award. The film will have its European premiere at the 61st BFI London Film Festival in October in the Journey section, which selects films that transport the viewers and shift their perspectives. Sheikh Jackson is set on the day of Michael Jackson's death in 2009, and centres on a sheikh who was dubbed "Jackson" by his friends during his schooldays. The story goes on to explore the emotions stirred by the pop star's death, sparking a series of existential questions within the sheikh. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
