Koran by Heart
2011•1h 30m•5.8•Released
Documentary
In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year-old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. Up against much older students, these youngsters have committed the 600 pages of the Koran to memory, and will put their skills to the test before the elite of the world’s Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. In the midst of this intense international competition, the three young competitors –two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and one girl from the Maldives – face uncertain futures at home, as they are caught between fundamentalist and moderate visions of Islam. The children discuss their recitation techniques – with accompanying, completely improvised melodies – and talk about their nerves and excitement as they finally compete before a panel of judges.
Director
Greg Barker
Languages
English
Studio
HBO Documentary Films
Production
Company
HBO Documentary Films
Producer
David Grabias
Producer
Julie Goldman
Producer
Greg Barker
Producer
John Battsek
Recommended
7.3
Facing Ali
2009
8.2
For Sama
2019
6.6
The Kid Stays in the Picture
2002
7.4
Zero Days
2016
6.1
Room 237
2012
7.7
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
2022
7.3
Sour Grapes
2016
6.6
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
2015
7.7
The Fog of War
2003
6.4
Generation Wealth
2018
6.5
Finders Keepers
2015
7.2
One Child Nation
2019
7.3
Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation
2019
7.8
Disclosure
2020
7.6
Night Will Fall
2014
6.6
The Swamp
2020
7.3
Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story
2014
6.8
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
1988
6.8
Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly
2019
6.2
H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer
2004
Similar Movies
8.5
Rif 1921, una historia olvidada
2008
Robert Breer At Home
1992
6
Cinéastes de notre temps : Norman McLaren
1972
6
Gonzalo Suárez: Sam Peckinpah, director salvaje
2011
7
The Cinema According to Dalí
2010
We Are Egypt
2012
Zombies: When the Dead Walk
2008
7.2
Echo of the Mountain
2015
6
De reparto: retrato de un actor
2009
6
Orson Welles y Goya
2008
8
Hoxsey: When Healing Becomes a Crime
2005
Happy on the Ground: 8 Days at Grammy Camp
2011
6
Arne Sucksdorff: Uma Vida Documentando a Vida
2004
7
Choir. Conductor. Kamēr…
2019
5.8
Sexo en el plató
2007
6
Històries de Bruguera
2012
7
Los 5 Faust de F. W. Murnau
2002
8.3
Albert Camus, la tragédie du bonheur
1999
6
Dame veneno
2007
5
Japan: The Missing Million
2002