“Hamnet” and “The Testament of Ann Lee” screened during this year’s Palm Springs International Film Festival, and following each of the films, directors Chloé Zhao and Mona Fastvold, as well as “Ann Lee” star Amanda Seyfried, discussed the feminine energy that fueled their work on-screen and behind the scenes.

Onstage, Zhao confirmed rumors that when she first received the call from producer Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment to adapt Maggie O’Farrell’s emotional novel about William and Agnes Shakespeare, she initially replied, “I’m not sure.”

Zhao partially credits her reticence to the hectic nature of the call, which came through during her spottily serviced drive to the Telluride Film Festival a few years ago. Once she arrived at the festival, though, she was asked to meet with actor Paul Mescal. It was a moment of kismet.

“Just looking at him, I saw a young Shakespeare. He had an earring,...See full article at Variety - Film News