PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Aisling Walsh, director of the film Maudie.
Aisling Walsh talks about her film Maudie, which was featured in the program of the 29th Galway Film Fleadh. The film is based on the life of Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis, here interpreted by the great actress Sally Hawkins. Ethan Hawke is also featured in the movie and plays the part of Maud’s husband. Walsh talks about Maud Lewis and how she became involved in the project. Later in the interview, she also talks about how her training in painting influences her filmmaking. Other topics discussed include working with Hawkins and Hawke on the film, the “love story” aspect of Maudie, the importance of landscape in the film, and more.
Maudie is based on the true story of folk artist Maud Lewis (Sally Hawkins) and the unlikely romance between Maud and a hardened reclusive bachelor, Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke). Maud, a bright-eyed, intelligent woman, hunched with crippled arthritic hands, yearns to be independent from her overprotective family. She escapes her solitary existence through her art, dreaming away the days, until in her early 30s she finds, and answers, an ad for a housekeeper. Everett Lewis is a 40-year-old bachelor. Tall, skinny and shabby, abandoned by his parents at a very young age, he has nevertheless managed to become a proud and self-sufficient man, largely by collecting scraps and peddling fish. He lives in a 10×12 foot house that has neither running water nor electricity, but at least it’s all his.
The Lovers Film Festival celebrates 40 years with 70 films from 26 countries, international guests and tributes to LGBTQI+ cinema icons. Directed by Vladimir Luxuria, from 10 to 17 April at the Cinema Massimo in Turin.