Isabelle Huppert’s La Syndicaliste Gets A UK Release Date

Back in March gripping political thriller La Syndicaliste starring Isabelle Huppert made it’s UK Premiere at Glasgow Film Festival. Modern Films  will release the film in UK Cinemas from June.

The thriller is based on the true story of Maureen Kearney (played by Huppert), a trade union organiser in the French nuclear industry who became both a victim and suspect in a shocking scandal. The film is directed by Jean-Paul Salomé who was inspired to make this film after reading investigative journalist Caroline Michel-Aguirre’s book ‘La Syndicaliste’. He was also drawn to the cinematic potential of the story and the exploration of a defiant woman in a man’s world.

Salomé commented “I didn’t think about whether Maureen was guilty or innocent. What I was interested in was the turmoil she generated and that, curiously enough, endures. Throughout the film, the character’s journey is singular, from the beginning of her combat to the last scene. Maureen is fighting against a kind of tentacular hydra that is completely beyond her. And at the same time, she’s fighting for something very simple: saving jobs. She could give up, but within her is a fierce will to fight and, deep down, to be a larger character than her path initially indicated. She was a trade unionist, she was not supposed to lead an army.”

Here’s the synopsis:
Maureen Kearney (Isabelle Huppert) was the head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse.  She became a whistleblower, denouncing top-secret deals that shook the French nuclear sector.  Alone against the world, she fought government ministers and industry leaders tooth and nail to bring the scandal to light and to defend more than 50,000 jobs.  Her life was turned upside down when she was violently assaulted in her own home. The investigation was carried out under pressure: the subject was sensitive. Suddenly, new elements created doubt in the minds of the investigators, and at first a victim, Maureen became a suspect.

The film also stars Grégory Gadebois, Marina Fois, Yvan Attal, and Pierre Deladonchamps. La Syndicaliste  will be released in UK and Irish cinemas from 30th June.