After working together on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and A Little Chaos, Kate Winslet and Ellen Kuras are now teaming up again for Kuras' full-length directional debut Lee. Together with an extremely talented cast, including Winslet herself, Andrea Riseborough, Marion Cotillard, Josh O'Connor, Andy Samberg and Alexander Skarsgård, Kuras is bringing the heartbreaking story of war photographer Lee Miller to the big screen.
Miller, who changed history with her moving and sometimes challenging war portraits, was a pioneer when it came to war photography and fighting for women's rights. Her inspiring and touching work needs to be seen by as many eyes as possible and so does this film as Lee is an engrossing and inspiring feature about a headstrong female war photographer who fought against both the enemies and the prejudices against women.
According to Kuras, making Lee was the ‘perfect opportunity for us [Winslet and Kuras] to come together and put together some shared ideas. And, you know, Kate and I worked really well together in terms of trying to put together the staff and that kind of thing. I really wanted to take on this story because I've known for a long time about Lee Miller and the kind of fearless role model that she was in many ways and what she did and her defying boundaries.'
That Miller was indeed a boundary-defying woman becomes incredibly clear when looking at her life and career. From giving up her modelling job to pursuing a career in war journalism and from standing up for women's rights in both journalism and society to changing the way war is being depicted in media, Miller's work had a much bigger impact on the world than people think.
While Lee mainly centres on her life between 1930 and 1970, the movie feels extremely contemporary because of the topics touched upon, including war and women's rights. According to Kuras, Lee Miller is “a very contemporary woman. She's a very contemporary thinker. So I, and many other women, are going to be able to connect with her and connect with who she is and what she's doing. And for me, that's an important story to tell.”
FILMHOUNDS spoke to Kuras ahead of the film's cinematic release on September 13. Check out the full interview here:
Lee is out in UK cinemas on September 13 courtesy of Sky Cinema
