Mona Fastvold shot ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ mere moments after she wrapped her work on ‘The Brutalist’ with director Brady Corbet, her husband and writing partner.
The duo wrote the two projects back-to-back. They then flew to Hungary with their crew and shot ‘The Brutalist’ with Corbet at the helm, before quickly reorienting the team to film
@thetestamentofannlee with Fastvold in position. “You’re a little nervous,” Fastvold, who turns 45 in March, recalls of the whiplash-inducing process. “Because we might not be able to pull it off.” But, of course, they did: ‘The Brutalist’ earned three Academy Awards (including one for actor Adrien Brody) and seven additional nominations, while ‘Ann Lee’ was up for the Golden Lion and a Golden Globe, among other nods.
After cutting her teeth acting in her native Norway and the U.S. (both Fastvold and Corbet were child actors), Fastvold flexed her muscles as a director with two intimate features: 2014’s ‘The Sleepwalker’ and 2020’s ‘The World to Come.’ In contrast, ‘Ann Lee’ bursts with both movement and flair as characters flit across the screen, periodically arranging themselves into painterly compositions.
On the heels of what may well be the most pivotal two years of their careers, Fastvold and Corbet sat down for a conversation that spins almost as wildly as the Shakers themselves, covering everything from spiders to soap operas. Link in bio to read it now.
1/ Mona Fastvold wears a coat by
@prada and an archival sweater by
@marcjacobs .
4/ Archival
@marcjacobs sweater and archival
@anndemeulemeester_official boots.
8/ Archival dress by
@jilsander .
Photography:
@yanayatsuk
Styling:
@rebeccarams
Hair: Sydney Valentine
Makeup:
@yasukoshapiro
Production: Leah Oliveria
