Opens in cinemas across Australia May 16, 2019
PETERLOO
A film by Mike Leigh
★★★★★ “With this richly intelligent, passionate movie Mike Leigh has fought a brilliant rearguard action on history’s political battlefield.”
– Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Director & Writer: Mike Leigh
Starring: Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake and Tim McInnerny
An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reform and protest against rising levels of poverty. Many protestors were killed and hundreds more injured, sparking a nationwide outcry but also further government suppression. The Peterloo Massacre was a defining moment in British democracy which also played a significant role in the founding of The Guardian newspaper.
Written and directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky, Secrets & Lies, Mr. Turner), PETERLOO stars Tim McInnerny, Maxine Peake, Robert Wilfort, and Rory Kinnear as British orator, pioneer and politician Henry Hunt.
In Australian cinemas nationally May 16, 2019
Running time: 154 minutes I Classification: M
OFFICIAL COMPETITION: Venice Film Festival 2018
Distributed in Australia by Transmission Films