The Conquest

The day is May 6, 2007, France’s run-up to the presidential elections. As the French people are getting ready to go to the polls to elect their new president, presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has shut himself away in his home. Though Sarkozy soon learns he has won the election, he is alone, gloomy and despondent. For hours he has been trying to reach his wife, Cécilia, to no avail. The last five years start to unfurl before our eyes, recounting Sarkozy’s unstoppable ascent to power, riddled with in-party backstabbing, media manipulation, riots, sarcastic confrontations and extra-marital affairs.

THE CONQUEST chronicles the volatile right-leaning Sarkozy’s startling rise to become President of France and the emotional and psychological stakes involving the conquest of power. On the day the diminutive Sarkozy conquered his ultimate ambition, his wife – who for twenty years had struggled to pull the man she loved from the shadow into the light – walked out on him for another man.

Awards

Official Selection – Cannes Film Festival 2011

“One of the most involving films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, "The Conquest" is a crisp adult drama that examines a crucial five years in the life of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, detailing how he simultaneously gained the office of his dreams and lost the love of a former wife and key advisor.” (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times)

“Neither hatchet job nor hagiography, it entertainingly lifts the lid on a period which changed France's political landscape forever.” (Nick Roddic, This is London)