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Posted in: Movies, News | Tagged: amanda seyfried, film, the testament of ann lee, venice film festival
Amanda Seyfried Shares Her Experience with The Testament of Ann Lee
In The Testament of Ann Lee, actor Amanda Seyfried embraced “so much freedom” under filmmaker Mona Fastvold.
Article Summary
- Amanda Seyfried stars as Ann Lee in Mona Fastvold's ambitious new film, The Testament of Ann Lee.
- Seyfried describes the role as her most liberating acting experience, embracing creative freedom.
- The film blends ritual and musical elements to explore the Shaker founder's extraordinary story.
- The Testament of Ann Lee premiered at Venice 2025 with strong buzz and critical acclaim.
Mona Fastvold's upcoming film, The Testament of Ann Lee, intends to revisit the life of Ann Lee, the British-born founder of the Shakers, an 18th-century religious leader whose worship was characterized by song, rhythm, and a kind of holy tremor that scandalized her contemporaries. And rather than file her into the usual biopic drawer, Fastvold plans to explore Lee's story as something between ritual and musical. Now, the actor behind this version of Ann Lee is opening up about how the film differed from other productions.
Amanda Seyfried Says The Testament of Ann Lee Offered "So Much Freedom"
When addressing the sheer ambition of the film, actor Amanda Seyfried specifically framed the role of Ann as unusually liberating, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "This did feel like an opportunity where there were just no tethers to anything. Basically, I follow Mona into the light, and anything goes because there's so much freedom, and the only threat is to not use that freedom to your advantage as an artist to go as far deep as you can go to make the craziest sounds. I've never been let loose in this way."
The Testament of Ann Lee just had its world premiere in the main competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2025 (with rave reviews from audiences), on a production budget of around $10 million. In addition to Seyfried leading the charge, the film's ensemble cast also includes Thomasin McKenzie as Mary, Lewis Pullman as William Lee (Ann's brother), Stacy Martin as Jane Wardley, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Abbott as Abraham Standerin (Ann's husband), Matthew Beard, Scott Handy as James Wardley (Jane's husband), Jamie Bogyo, Viola Prettejohn, and David Cale as John Hocknell. Key creatives also include Brady Corbet, who co-wrote the film alongside Fastvold, with cinematographer William Rexer, and composer Daniel Blumberg rounding out the team.
As of now, with the film on the festival circuit (Venice, with additional listings at Toronto and the BFI London Film Festival), a formal theatrical release date has not been announced. Though given its early reviews, it's only a matter of time.
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