TIFF 2025 Review: Egghead Republic

TIFF 2025: Egghead Republic Explores Media Exploitation in a Mutant Wasteland

What if the Cold War had gone nuclear and the world was left dealing with the fallout? That’s the twisted alternate reality of Egghead Republic, the latest from Swedish directors Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja. The duo adapt Arno Schmidt’s 1957 novel while weaving in Kågerman’s own memories of working at Vice during its peak of influence and infamy a mashup that feels just as messy as it does intriguing.

I’m a big sci-fi fan, so I was going into this thinking satire and Sci-fi?! The film throws us into this post-apocalyptic satire through Sonja Schmidt (Ella Rae Rappaport), a Swedish club kid caught in the all-too-familiar trap of the “unpaid internship.” Convinced by slick culture mogul Dino Davis (Tyler Labine) that it’s all about putting yourself out there and gaining exposure and she gets pulled into a gonzo reporting trip inside a radioactive zone …. the one rumored to be crawling with mutant centaurs. Is this a sci-fi dream?

Egghead Republic aims high, taking swings at media culture, ambition, exploitation, and the hunger for recognition that shapes our choices. Sometimes it lands, sometimes it doesn’t. What stood out for me most was Labine leaning fully into his sleazy counterculture boss role in which a dynamic with Rappaport that feels uncomfortably familiar. We’ve all known that type of boss, who has their moments of being magnetic in their own way, but also exploitative underneath, dangling cool opportunities that end up draining your balance and wearing down your well-being.

In the end, the film has bursts of energy and sharpness but also moments where it feels like something’s missing. Ambitious, stylish, and weirdly funny at times. It may stumble in execution, but Egghead Republic lingers because of its weird, fragmented energy and the way it skewers ambition and exploitation.

Watch a clip from Egghead Republic below

Egghead Republic is set to have a release date · November 28, 2025 (Sweden)