The intersection of technology and culture may be the main focus of SXSW London, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for some old-school, period romantic comedies in the lineup.
‘Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day’ kicked off the opening night of the second Austen spin-off in London, with cast and crew in attendance for the acclaimed world premiere at the Barbican Centre.
Among those on the red carpet and on stage before and after the special screening were stars Haley Bennett, Jack Whitehall and Timothy Spall, as well as producer and screenwriter Justin Waddell and director Tina Gavari.
Based on Woolf’s novel and set in 1910, “Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day” follows avid astronomer Catherine (Bennett) as she tries her best to avoid love and marriage in order to focus on her two passions: the stars and the University of Cambridge. But when her controlling father (Spall) tries to force her away from her scientific pursuits and marry an old family friend, William (Whitehall), the headstrong young woman defies the expectations imposed on her and joins the women’s suffrage movement, spearheaded by the inspiring and outspoken Mary (Lily Allen).
“I didn’t know Virginia Woolf was eccentric,” Waddell told the audience after the premiere. “And I thought it was endearing. That comic energy was something I fell in love with. When I was working on the film, Tina Gavali and I talked a lot about this kind of comic teen energy. We talked about John Hughes as a major reference and movies like “16 Candles” and “The Breakfast Cup.” They have a rebellious teen energy that you never see in a costume drama.”
‘Night and Day of Virginia Woolf’ is released by Vue Lumiere in the UK and recently acquired by Quiver in the US.
The film was produced by Waddell, Christopher Figg, Meg Thomson, Steven Julius, Julie Link, and Philipp Steffens, with co-producers Annegret Weidkamper-Kruk, Sebastian Leutner, and Mark Gabizon, and executive producers Egor Noskov, Margarete Baille, Lara Ta, Nadia Gorshkova, Elena Simone, Anke Cresper, and Enzo. Zerocki, Konstantin Korenchuk, Saskia Thomas, Ian Hutchinson, Richard Swift, Mark Grew, Gail Woodruff, Alison Gwynne.
