Waiting for Abu Zayd (2010)

"Nasr Hamed Abou Zayd is not Godot, and the expectation promised by the title is misleading: this great gentleman is present in almost every shot. Who is he? Egyptian Muslim theologian of international reputation, he has published exegeses of Koran which led to his being condemned for apostasy. Exile, forced divorce from his wife Ibtihal Younes since his marriage was subject to annulment, separation from his son, such are the consequences of his writings. But Abou Zayd has not given up, residing in Leiden in the Netherlands, he continues, always on the road, to give conferences, to explain with great serenity his positions in public debates, on television, etc. It is this particularly impressive dedication that Mohammad Ali Atassi's camera recorded over a period of six years. This film is therefore the portrait of a thinker in action and the opportunity for fascinating lessons in Islamic studies. But it is also, as in this sequence of meeting with a room in Beirut, or on the set of Al Jezeera, a document on a society passionate about theoretical debates."