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STRIKING THE PALACE SUNDAY, JUNE 9 - 1:00pm
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Eva (newcomer Lucie Charles-Alfred), a 20-year-old living in a hotel for young adults from the foster care system, is temporarily hired at a palace hotel in Paris to replace a chambermaid on strike. After some initial resistance, Eva bonds with the housekeeping crew and discovers a diverse team of strong, resilient, and funny women who make her feel like family. Among them are Safietou (Marie-Sohna Condé), Violette (Salimata Kamate), Aïssata (Maïmouna Gueye) and Simone (the always fantastic Corinne Masiero, Invisibles – SFFF 2019, here in a role opposite to her usual screen persona). Eva soon discovers their hard working conditions are rendered even harder by the fact that many – including herself – are employed by a subcontractor and don’t have the same rights as hotel employees. Her second-class status means not being provided with breakfast in the morning to having precarious work contracts. When more chambermaids join the striking workers who have been protesting in front of the hotel, they finally start to gain traction. As life within the hotel gets shaken up, everyone in the team will face hard choices. Nessim Chikhaoui is mostly known in France as one of the authors of the cult comedy saga, Les Tuche (which includes four films since 2011, and a fifth in production). In Striking the Palace, he exposes, with his usual humor, life behind the scenes at a luxury hotel. He celebrates the invisible women who maintain the high standards that hotel guests expect, in a place where one night can cost their annual salary. Chikhaoui, and his co-writer Hélène Fillières, draw inspiration from recent victorious strikes in Parisian hotels, especially the Ibis Batignolles strike that lasted 22 months (from July 2019 to May 2021), the longest in the history of the French hotel industry. Rachel Keke, one of the leaders of the strike, has since been elected as a Deputée at the “Assemblée Nationale” (France’s House of Representatives). |
U.S. PREMIERE! REVIEWS (A) cheerful social comedy that celebrates the housekeepers' resistance and their solidarity, while denouncing the injustices and precariousness they face. Class struggle at the palace, a successful social comedy by Nessim Chikhaoui. SUNDAY, JUNE 9 - 1:00pm - TOWER THEATRE |
DIRECTOR: Nessim Chikhaoui CAST: France, 2024 International Sales: |
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