When this year's Cannes films were presented at a press conference in Paris on Thursday, it was clear that Saleh's film is competing in the main category.
The Top League
The fact that the film would compete in Cannes was not part of the plan, says Tarik Saleh at a press conference at Filmhuset in Stockholm:
It was not planned for Cannes – but the main competition in Cannes, it doesn't get better. It's the top league, it corresponds to the World Championship, he says and continues:
To be able to show the film where the greats have shown films, like Scorsese and Visconti, it's almost like being in Mecca. It's incredible.
"Eagles of the Republic" is the final part of Saleh's so-called "Cairo trilogy", which began with "The Nile Hilton Incident" in 2017 and continued with "Boy from Heaven".
Fares Fares plays Egypt's most beloved actor George Fahmy, who is pressured to play the lead role in a film commissioned by the authorities.
For "Boy from Heaven", Tarik Saleh received the screenplay prize in Cannes in 2002. He has set his sights high for this year's festival.
Of course, I want to win too, but I wouldn't be completely shocked if Fares Fares wins for best actor. The role he does is among the best I've ever seen.
Tarik Saleh emphasizes that a spot on the film festival in Cannes gives life to a film in a way that's hard to beat.
I think what happens is that the film is automatically put on the world map. And it becomes directly noticed in a way that no other place can.
Competition
The film is competing against, among others, Norwegian director Joachim Trier's film "Sentimental Value", where Swedish Stellan Skarsgård plays one of the lead roles. Other competitors in the category are Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme", the Dardenne brothers' "Young Mothers", Julia Ducourneau's "Alpha" and Ari Aster's "Eddington".
There is also a Swedish chance in British Harry Lighton's feature film debut "Pillion", where Alexander Skarsgård plays one of the lead roles. The film is competing in the Un Certain Regard category.
Juliette Binoche is the jury chairman of this year's festival, which takes place from May 13-24. It is already known that Robert De Niro will receive an honorary Golden Palm for his long career.
In addition, the festival gets extra international star power in the form of Tom Cruise, since his "Mission Impossible" film "The Final Reckoning" is shown out of competition.
"Eagles of the Republic" will have its Swedish cinema premiere on September 19.
