Leonora in the Morning Light: Surrealist biopic blurs fact and fiction
The film 'Leonora in the Morning Light' explores the life of British Mexican Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington (1917-2011), intertwining reality with fiction. It draws inspiration from Elena Poniatowska's novelization (2011) and Michaela Carter's novel (2021). Directed by Thor Klein and Lena Vurma, the story unfolds nonlinearly, starting in 1951 Mexico, where Carrington (Olivia Vinall) visits her patron Edward James (Ryan Gage) at his surrealist garden, Las Pozas. The narrative then shifts back to 1930s Paris, where she is with lover Max Ernst (Alexander Scheer). The film addresses Carrington's feminist views on Surrealist misogyny, her struggles during WWII, and her later life in Mexico City, where she marries photographer Chiki Weisz. Notably, it omits her gang rape by Francoist soldiers and simplifies her hospitalization. It is currently being shown in Dublin, England, and Scotland.
Key facts
- Film titled 'Leonora in the Morning Light'
- Based on novels by Elena Poniatowska (2011) and Michaela Carter (2021)
- Directed by Thor Klein and Lena Vurma
- Olivia Vinall plays Leonora Carrington
- Ryan Gage plays Edward James
- Alexander Scheer plays Max Ernst
- Denis Eyriey plays André Breton
- Cat Jugravu plays Salvador Dalí
- Film begins in Mexico in 1951
- Carrington visits Las Pozas, James's surrealist garden
- Flashback to 1930s Paris
- Carrington critiques Surrealist view of women as muses
- Ernst arrested by French government in 1939
- Carrington institutionalized in Spain
- Film omits Carrington's gang rape by Francoist soldiers
- Carrington marries Chiki Weisz in Mexico
- Weisz was Robert Capa's darkroom manager
- Carrington connects with Indigenous women and art
- Film screening in Dublin, England, and Scotland
Entities
Artists
- Leonora Carrington
- Elena Poniatowska
- Michaela Carter
- Thor Klein
- Lena Vurma
- Olivia Vinall
- Ryan Gage
- Alexander Scheer
- Denis Eyriey
- Cat Jugravu
- Salvador Dalí
- Max Ernst
- André Breton
- Edward James
- Chiki Weisz
- Robert Capa
- René Magritte
- Hilma af Klint
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Remedios Varo
- Thorsten Klein
- Pablo Picasso
- Whitney Chadwick
- Kathy Hessel
- Tessa Solomon
- Peggy Guggenheim
Institutions
- Dragonfly Films
- Alamode Films
- The Art Newspaper
- Modern Films
- Alamode Film
- St Mary's Ascot
- University of East Anglia
- Amédée Ozenfant's academy
- Musée du Luxembourg
- Freud Museum
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Art in America
- The Guardian
- Munich Film Festival
- Guadalajara International Film Festival
- Kickstarter
Locations
- Mexico
- Mexico City
- Paris
- France
- Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche
- Spain
- Madrid
- Santander
- England
- Dublin
- Ireland
- Scotland
- United Kingdom
- Sierra Gorda rainforest
- Las Pozas
- London
- Saint-Martin d'Ardèche
- Florence
- Italy
- Brooklyn
- New York
- United States
- Germany
- Romania
- Munich
- Guadalajara