Tarik Saleh’s Eagles of the Republic selected for Toronto International Film Festival
The political thriller starring Fares Fares, Lyna Khoudri and Zineb Triki is set in the powerful and glamorous Egyptian film industry, where the brightest shining star is drawn into the vicious undercurrent of deceit, corruption, and propaganda.
Eagles of the Republic had its world premiere in the main section of the Cannes film festival earlier this year. In Toronto it will be screened in the Centrepiece section that honours and celebrates global cinematic achievements.
The 50th edition of Toronto International Film Festival takes place between September 4-14, 2025.
Eagles of the Republic is the third and final film in Tarik Saleh's Cairo trilogy after successful The Nile Hilton Incident (Grand Jury Prize award, Sundance 2017) and Cairo Conspiracy aka Boy from Heaven (Best Screenplay, Cannes 2022).
The film, written and directed by Tarik Saleh, was shot in Istanbul last spring and summer and wrapped up in Gothenburg.
”I have barely processed the amazing reception our film received in Cannes. Being invited to the biggest film festival in North America is incredibly exciting. There is no better place to start the film's journey across the Atlantic", says Tarik Saleh.
SF Studios distributes the film in the Nordic countries, with a theatrical release scheduled for fall 2025.
The stellar international cast includes Swedish award-winning actor Fares Fares, French star Lyna Khoudri, the Egyptian Hollywood star Amr Waked, celebrated French-Moroccan actress Zineb Triki, renowned American-Palestinian actress Cherien Dabis and critically acclaimed Finnish-Syrian actor Sherwan Haji.
About the film
Egypt's most adored actor, George Fahmy (Fares Fares) is pressured to star in a film commissioned by the highest authorities. He reluctantly accepts the role and finds himself thrown into the inner circle of power. Like a moth drawn to the flame he begins an affair with the mysterious wife of the general overseeing the film.
The music of the film is composed by Academy Award winner Alexandre Desplat (Asteroid City, 2023, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, 2022, Little Women, 2019, The Shape of Water, 2017, The Imitation Game, 2014).
International sales are handled by Playtime, French distribution by Memento and SF Studios is distributing Pan-Nordic.
The previous films in the Cairo trilogy were both huge international successes. Tarik Saleh won the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival 2022 for Cairo Conspiracy aka Boy from Heaven. The film was Sweden's Oscar entry 2023 and received a César nomination for ’Best Foreign Film’ 2023. The Nile Hilton Incident received the Grand Jury Award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, the Swedish Academy Award for ’Best Film’ in 2018, and a César nomination for ’Best Foreign Language Film, to name a few awards.
Eagles of the Republic aka Les Aigles de la République is a Swedish (Unlimited Stories & Apparaten), French (Memento Production), Danish (Ström Pictures), Finnish (Bufo Oy) and German (Films Boutique) co-production with a budget of 9 M€, making it one of the biggest productions for an Arabic language film to date.
Starring in the leading role as George Fahmy is award-winning Fares Fares who also starred in the two previous films in the Cairo trilogy, Cairo Conspiracy aka Boy from Heaven (2022) and The Nile Hilton Incident (2017), the latter for which Fares received a Guldbagge Award for ’Best actor in a leading role’. Fares and Tarik have a long-standing working relationship, Fares has participated in Saleh’s Hollywood movie The Contractor, 2022, the animated dystopia Metropia, 2009 and in the futuristic HBO-series Westworld, 2018.
The role of Donya, George’s girlfriend is portrayed by French star Lyna Khoudri (The French Dispatch, 2021), who won a César in 2020 for ’Most Promising Actress’ for Papicha and the Orizzonti (Horizon) Award for 'Best Actress’ for Les Bienheureux aka the Blessed at the Venice Film Festival in 2017.
The stellar cast also includes names like celebrated French-Moroccan actress Zineb Triki (Vortex, 2022, The Bureau aka Le Bureau des Légendes, 2015-2020, Arthur Rambo, 2021), Egyptian Hollywood star Amr Waked (Firebrand, 2023, Lucy, 2014, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, 2011, Contagion, 2011, Syriana, 2005), American-Palestinian actress Cherien Dabis (Amazon Prime’s Fallout, 2024, Netflix’ Mo, 2022-2024, May in the Summer, 2013), who also is an award-winning writer and director in her own right (Only Murders in the Building, 2021-2023, Ramy, 2019-2022, Ozark, 2020, Amreeka, 2009), critically acclaimed Finnish-Syrian actor Sherwan Haji (Fallen Leaves aka Höstlöv som faller, 2023, Cairo Conspiracy aka Boy from Heaven, 2022, The Other Side of Hope aka Ljus i natten, 2017), and Jordanian actor Suhaib Nashwan (Amira, 2021, Chronicles of Her, 2020, Layla M., 2016, The Team, 2018), among others.
Eagles of the Republic is produced by Unlimited Stories, Apparaten, and Memento Production, in co-production with Ström Pictures, Bufo, Films Boutique, SVT, Film i Väst, ARTE France Cinéma, SF Studios, Mikael Ahlström Films and Playtime. With the support of the Swedish Film Institute, Playtime, Canal +, Ciné +, Eurimages, Nordisk Film & TV Fund, Memento, Bayerisher Rundfunk, ARTE France, Danish Film Institute, Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animée, Paris Region Fund, Finnish Film Foundation, YLE and DR.
Produced by Linus Stöhr Torell (Unlimited Stories), Linda Mutawi, Johan Lindström (Apparaten) and Alexandre Mallet-Guy (Memento Production).
Nordic distribution: SF Studios
French distribution: Memento
International sales: Playtime
Behind the camera
Director – Tarik Saleh
Writer – Tarik Saleh
Producers – Linda Mutawi, Linus Stöhr Torell, Johan Lindström and Alexandre Mallet-Guy
Photographer – Pierre Aïm
Production Designer – Roger Rosenberg
Costume Designer – Virginie Montel
Make up & Hair Designer – Saara Räisänen
Editor – Theis Schmidt
Music composer - Alexandre Desplat
among others
Tarik Saleh – Director and Scriptwriter
Tarik Saleh has a background as one of the most influential graffiti artists in Europe in the 80’s. His dramatic feature film debut came with Metropia, 2009, a dystopic animation with Stellan and Alexander Skarsgård, Juliette Lewis, Vincent Gallo and Udo Kier. The film premiered at Venice Film Festival as opening film for Critics’ Week. The Nile Hilton Incident won ‘The Grand Jury Prize’ at Sundance 2017, received a Guldbagge Award for ‘Best film’ in 2018, was nominated as ‘Best Foreign Film’ at the César Awards and was a box office hit with more than 400 000 tickets sold in France. Tarik Saleh won the Prix du scénario for ’Best Screenplay’ at the Cannes Film Festival 2022 for Cairo Conspiracy aka Boy from Heaven, Sweden's Oscar entry in 2023, received a César nomination for ’Best Foreign Film’ and achieved over 500 000 cinema admissions in France. He also directed The Contractor, 2022 starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Kiefer Sutherland, episodes of the futuristic HBO-series Westworld and Ray Donavon for Showtime 2018 and the Swedish thriller Tommy, 2014. Saleh also directed the documentaries Gitmo: The New Rules of War, 2005 and Sacrificio: Who Betrayed Che Guevara, 2001 together with Erik Gandini. Further, Saleh is known for his collaborations with singer Lykke Li. The music video "I Follow Rivers" has over 60 million views on YouTube.
Press contact
For further information and interview requests please contact MONDAY RELATIONS:
Camilla Nasiell, camilla.nasiell@mondayrelations.se, +46 70 720 65 63
About SF Studios
SF Studios, established in 1919, is one of the world’s oldest film companies. Today SF Studios is the leading film studio in the Nordic region with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and offices in Oslo, Copenhagen and Helsinki. The company is producing and distributing feature films and TV series as well as providing the streaming services SF Anytime and Blockbuster. SF Studios is part of the leading Nordic media company Bonnier.
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