Kate Winslet's 'Lee' to open London's first women-focused film festival
The first-ever Women and World International Film Festival in London will kick off with Ellen Kuras's film Lee, starring Oscar-winning actor Kate Winslet, reported Variety. The movie will debut at the festival on November 21. A post-screening Q&A session is scheduled with Antony Penrose—son of Lee Miller, the war photographer played by Winslet—along with producer Kate Solomon and screenwriter Marion Hume.
Festival to highlight women's experiences in conflict zones
The Women and World International Film Festival, taking place from November 21-23, will focus on highlighting the role of women in conflict zones across the world. The festival is spearheaded by Ukrainian producer-director Ksenia Bugrimova and Mariia Vynogradova. The opening night will include panel discussions with prominent personalities such as Brian Cox, Nicole Ansari Cox, Oscar-nominated director Waad al-Kaateb, Oscar-winning filmmaker Elena Andreicheva, Shabnam Nasimi, and Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.
Sundance 2024 winner 'Porcelain War' to premiere at the festival
The festival's competitive program will include the UK premiere of Porcelain War, the Sundance 2024 winner. Supported by the Ukrainian and Czech embassies in London, the event will also screen documentaries and features highlighting women's experiences in conflict-ridden areas like Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan. Expressing her intentions for the festival, Bugrimova said, "As a Ukrainian filmmaker shooting films in my war-torn country, I want to amplify the voices of women in film and media."
Know more about Winslet's 'Lee'
The film is adapted from The Lives of Lee Miller, the only authorized biography written by her son. In it, the 49-year-old actor portrays Lee Miller, a model-turned-WWII photographer. One of the film's most striking scenes recreates Miller's famous 1945 photograph, where she posed in Adolf Hitler's bathtub. Notably, this photograph was taken on the very day Hitler died by suicide along with his family.
