Eagles of the Republic

George Fahmy (played by the always-excellent Saleh regular Fares Fares) is Egypt’s biggest actor: known as the “Pharaoh of the Screen”, Fahmy appears in everything from historical dramas to sci-fis. He lives with his much younger lover and leads a charmed existence, despite being estranged from his wife and son. When he’s approached by the Egyptian government to star in a propaganda film, he recognises that he’s not really being asked but being instructed. Finding himself embedded in a whole new strata of influence and power, Fahmy unwisely begins an affair with the wife of the dangerous general supervising the film, with grave repercussions. Utilising scathing satire, Saleh portrays an authoritarian society rife with paranoia, corruption and power games in this riveting political thriller.