When Egyptian film star George Fahmy (Fares Fares) is fired from his current project after making insulting comments about President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, his career appears to be grinding to a halt. However, after he is coerced to star as el-Sisi in a government propaganda biopic, he is sent down a rabbit hole of complicity and subterfuge where his famed acting prowess can harm as well as benefit him.

Director and writer Saleh expertly represents the effects of el-Sisi’s regime on personal freedom through its psychological and external impacts on George and his life. The character’s decline from glamorous film star to helpless government puppet is well charted, with the third act in particular serving as a jolting reminder of the precarious existence he now leads.

Saleh’s scripting and direction also do an impressive job of keeping the tone varied, with the use of humour in the first two acts and political thriller tropes at the climax keeping the narrative fresh and multifaceted. This tonal variation also effectively mirrors George’s changing situation as events around him escalate and the government hold over him tightens its grip.

Fares is excellent as George, embodying the character’s initial egotistical nature as well as his growing desperation as he realises that he is a pawn in a greater political game. Fares also captures George’s growing humanity and emotional vulnerability through his relationships with his son and the defence minister’s wife, which evolve throughout the course of the film. A particularly impressive example can be found in George’s tearful breakdown at the film’s climax, which Fares makes the most of to fully convey the depths to which the character has sunk as a result of the government using him.

Eagles of the Republic is a darkly comic yet gripping political thriller that skilfully uses a fictional film star’s plight to highlight the effects of the el-Sisi regime on Egyptian culture and society. Saleh has a bold dissenting voice which obviously does him no favours in the eyes of Egyptian authorities, but serves as a necessary spotlight on the suppression of democracy in Egypt.

Screening at Filmhouse, Edinburgh until Thu 28 May 2026