Mona Fastvold's 'Il testamento di Ann Lee' explores Shaker founder's utopian vision

Director Mona Fastvold's film 'Il testamento di Ann Lee' offers a sensory, non-biopic exploration of Ann Lee, the 18th-century founder of the Shaker religious movement. The film intertwines music, spirituality, and community, and will be released in Italian theaters on March 12 by The Walt Disney Company. Fastvold, raised in a secular family, was drawn to Lee's desire for justice, transcendence, and collective grace, viewing her utopian vision as a metaphor for the creative act. Amanda Seyfried stars as Ann Lee, preparing for over a year by studying Shaker hymns, learning to sing differently, adopting an 18th-century Manchester dialect, and immersing herself in ritual gestures. Since no historical recordings of Shaker songs exist, the film's music was reconstructed from surviving scores, blending historical research with artistic interpretation. Seyfried emphasized connecting emotionally with the character, moved by Lee's ability to transform personal pain—including the loss of her children—into a spiritual and communal vision. She sees the Shaker movement not as a sect but as a community founded on love, compassion, and solidarity.