Leonora in the Morning Light screening with directors Q&A
We are delighted to promote our Sunday afternoon screening of the new drama Leonora in the Morning Light. Where we will be joined by the film’s two directors; Thor Klein and Lena Vurma who will be hosting a Q&A along with the film.
Leonora in the Morning Light (2025) is a lush, handsomely crafted biopic from co-directors Thor Klein and Lena Vurma that brings the extraordinary life of Surrealist painter Leonora Carrington to the screen. Adapted from Elena Poniatowska’s biographical novel Leonora, the film traces Carrington’s journey from 1930s Paris—where she falls in with luminaries like André Breton and Salvador Dalí and into a passionate, volatile romance with German artist Max Ernst—through the upheavals of World War II and ultimately to Mexico, the country most associated with her work, where she reclaims her art, her identity, and her freedom.
At its heart is a quietly luminous performance from newcomer Olivia Vinall, who convincingly carries Carrington across three decades of her life and who especially shines in the scenes where Carrington moves through feelings of alienation and psychological turmoil. She’s well matched by Alexander Scheer as Max Ernst—and notably, both performers bear a striking resemblance to the real Carrington and Ernst.
Visually, the film is a real pleasure. Reviewers praised its beautifully and imaginatively shot imagery, and the directors make evocative use of stunning Mexican and French landscapes as backdrops for depicting altered states of consciousness. One standout sequence—when Carrington trails off into the jungle and the directors make it look as though she is stepping into a surrealist painting—achieves a genuinely sublime effect. The film is anchored by a sparse but highly effective score and a wonderfully chosen cast whose acting is subtle yet convincing.
What elevates the film beyond a standard artist biopic is its sensibility. Rather than merely recounting events, Klein and Vurma focus on evoking the spirit of Carrington’s work, peppering the film with unorthodox techniques and creative flourishes that highlight the fascinating, complex mind of their subject. As one critic put it, it’s a well-crafted, handsomely made drama that celebrates art rather than being purely a biographical account of its subject. The result rightly asserts Carrington’s international pedigree, eclectic influences, and remarkable resilience, securing her place in a previously male-dominated art canon beyond doubt.
In short, it’s an elegant, atmospheric, and visually inventive tribute to one of the twentieth century’s most singular artists—a film about a woman who turned trauma into transcendence, creating beauty from chaos and forging a legacy that changed the history of modern art.
