MIA HANSEN-LØVE’S NEW MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT BIOPIC TO SHOOT IN IRELAND
RENATE REINSVE, JOHNNY FLYNN, VICKY KRIEPS, AND CHARLIE KELLY STAR IN
IF LOVE SHOULD DIE
ANNOUNCED AT TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
As reported in Deadline, the production of IF LOVE SHOULD DIE has been announced at the Toronto International Film Festival. The new feature from acclaimed French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve (Bergman Island, One Fine Morning, Eden) will shoot in Ireland as part of a major international production.
Starring Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value, Backrooms), Johnny Flynn (Goodbye June, Ripley), Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister), and Charlie Kelly (Bodkin, The Terror), the intimate and epic period drama tells the remarkable story of pioneering writer and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797). The production is set to shoot across Ireland, Norway, Sweden, France and Spain over the coming months.
The project has a particular Irish connection. Although Wollstonecraft was born in London, her mother Elizabeth Dixon came from Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, giving the celebrated writer strong Irish roots. Wollstonecraft herself also spent a formative period in Ireland, working as a governess to the daughters of the Anglo-Irish Kingsborough family.
Set during the Enlightenment and on the eve of the French Revolution, IF LOVE SHOULD DIE follows Wollstonecraft’s passionate and unconventional life, from her determination to establish herself as a writer, to her relationships with editor Joseph Johnson, Gilbert Imlay and William Godwin, with whom she had her daughter, future Frankenstein author Mary Shelley. The film will also explore her relationship with contemporary writer Elizabeth Inchbald.
Mia Hansen-Løve describes the film as a project that is “particularly close to my heart” and a “huge challenge”, bringing Mary Wollstonecraft to the screen for the first time.
Speaking about the film, Irish Producer Patrick O’Neill, Wildcard said: “It’s such a thrill to be going into production on IF LOVE SHOULD DIE, a film very close to my heart given myself and Mary Wollstonecraft’s mother are from the same small Donegal town of Ballyshannon. Mia and Renate are incredible talents, and I have no doubt the film is going to be very special.”
The film is produced by Wildcard (Kneecap) together with Intake Films (The Brutalist), Les Films Pelleas (Anatomy of a Fall), Elastica Films (Alcarrás), Mer Film (Sentimental Value), and Caspian Films (Frank & Louis) and is backed by RT Features (Call Me By Your Name) and Anonymous Content (The Revenant) with support from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, alongside a range of European film funds and broadcasters. International sales are being handled by Goodfellas.
