SXSW London‘s film strand is officially underway with the world premiere of Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day.
At a blustery Barbican Centre in central London on Monday night, the cast and crew of Tina Gharavi’s film defied the wind and gathered to celebrate their opener. Haley Bennett, Timothy Spall, Jack Whitehall, Misia Butler and Sally Phillips were all in attendance alongside Gharavi and screenwriter Justine Waddell, though their co-stars Jennifer Saunders and Lily Allen did not make an appearance on the pink carpet.
The movie adapts Woolf’s novel of the same name, as female astronomer Katharine Hilbery (Bennett) attempts to free herself from the patriarchal constraints of the early 20th century.
“Virginia Woolf’s themes are so timeless and universal: the struggle to balance love with ambition, freedom with societal expectations, how to live life — on your own terms,” Bennett told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s so fresh and rare to have a female lead who has absolutely no interest in romance, and that was something that I really aspire to. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I am a working mom,” added Bennett, who shares a daughter with filmmaker Joe Wright.
“I juggle parenting and traveling the world and trying not to give up my dreams because I have a child,” she added. “I want her to see me doing what I love and be inspired by that.”
