Waiting For Paradise
About the Film
At 20, Amber is a sharp-witted misfit drifting through Cairo’s underbelly. Her only dream: escape to Europe, the promised land across the sea in Alexandria, where smugglers sell hope for cash. Desperate, Amber hatches a morally murky plan—posing as a Christian girl converting to Islam, staging tearful “awakenings” in Cairo mosques. Donations flow. Each performance is crafted to stir hearts, but each one blurs her sense of self.
Haunted by a scandalous past she refuses to name and hardened by a city that never made space for girls like her, Amber survives on reinvention. Along the way, she collides with kindred outcasts: Fairuz, a Sudanese refugee concealing truths; Yakut, an animal chiropractor turned underground pharmacist; Borhan, a renegade imam unraveling his own doubts; and Bazooka, a rundown motel worker who sees through Amber’s bravado.
The con unravels when Amber is recognized during a final mosque performance. Betrayed, pursued by police, she races toward Alexandria. In Abu Qir’s decaying port, surrounded by rusted wrecks and ghosts of past exiles, Amber faces the ultimate decision: abandon her masks or let them consume her.
Country(s): Egypt, Sweden
Production company: ArtKhana – B-RETTA Films
Coproduction Company: Eurava
Runtime: 96 min
Director Mohamad Siam
Siam is a filmmaker and producer of narrative and documentary cinema. A member of both the European Film Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His debut Whose Country? premiered at the New York Film Festival, followed by Amal, which opened IDFA and won awards at Sheffield and over 100 festivals. His narrative debut My Father’s Scent won five prizes at Venice Final Cut 2024. It has also won Audience Award at Red Sea 2025 and Cinemamed Grand Prize & Cineuropa Award 2025
He co-produced SINK (Toronto 2025), participated in My Father and Qaddafi (Venezia 2025) and was an executive producer on Chronicles From The Siege (Berlinale 2026). He is currently developing two feature films: Waiting for Paradise and Carnival selected at Cannes Cinéfondation L’Atelier. His cinematography includes The Trials of the Spring, The Path, and Diaries from Lebanon (Berlinale 2024). A frequent juror, mentor, and lecturer, Siam has received fellowships from Sundance, MacDowell, Netflix, and the Mellon Foundation
Producer Fady Gamal Atallah
Fady Gamal Atallah (b. February 7, 1983, Cairo) is an award-winning Egyptian/Swedish director, screenwriter, and producer. Trained originally as an engineer, he transitioned into cinema after studying at Stockholm Film School and earning an MA in Screenwriting from Raindance Film School, UK. He is currently completing a PhD in Audio-Visual Film Studies at the University of Birmingham.
Atallah’s work explores themes of migration, identity, and belonging, often blending personal stories with historical and cultural reflection. His films have screened at leading platforms including the Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF) and have won development awards supported by the Swedish Film Institute, Doha Film Institute, and international co-production markets. As both filmmaker and producer, Atallah’s trajectory spans shorts, features, and animation, with an emerging slate of international co-productions bridging Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.
Coproducer Brandy Miller
Brandy Miller is an emerging producer working across European feature film and international co-productions. She served as Junior Producer on MY FATHER’S SCENT (2025) and is Associate Producer on WAITING FOR PARADISE, contributing to the development and production of character-driven, internationally positioned projects.
She is the founder of Eurava Media & Production, a Brussels-based company specializing in creative audiovisual development, media strategy, and high-level event production at the intersection of culture, policy, and European affairs. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in German, specializing in literature and film studies, and a Master’s degree in European Studies. She regularly moderates public discussions and works as an independent consultant. She is based in Brussels.