-

There's no better film festival treat than seeing a movie you dug find a home at a company you greatly admire and that's exactly what happened with Saint Maud, which was just snatched up by A24. Morfydd Clark leads as the title character. Maud is a young nurse and a devout Christian who takes a job providing hospice care for Jennifer Ehle's character, Amanda. Maud's intense devotion to her faith leads her to become fixated on saving Amanda's soul from damnation, no matter what it takes.

While in Toronto for Saint Maud's big debut at TIFF 2019, Clark, Ehle and director Rose Glass carved out a little time to visit the Collider Lounge to tell us all about their experience working together on the film. We covered how the roles of Maud and Amanda changed after Clark and Ehle were cast, Glass' experience in film school, the unsung hero of the production, and so much more. You can give the full conversation a watch using the video player at the top of this article.

nordstrom-supper-suite-tiff-2019

We also need to send a big thank you to our presenting sponsor Nordstrom Canada and supporting partners Marriott Bonvoy and Ciroc Vodka for supporting the Collider Lounge at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and helping to make these interviews happen.

You can find a full breakdown of the interview and the official TIFF synopsis for Saint Maud below:

Morfydd Clark, Rose Glass, Jennifer Ehle:

  • 00:12 - What is Saint Maud about?
  • 01:02 - What were the biggest questions Clark had for Glass after signing on?
  • 01:51 - The most intimidating thing about the project for Clark.
  • 02:27 - How the roles of Maud and Amanda changed after casting Clark and Ehle.
  • 04:45 - Ehle on what draws her to a project.
  • 06:25 - Glass shares her thoughts on going to film school.
  • 07:38 - Times when things didn't go according to plan during the shoot.
  • 08:46 - Amanda and Maud are very intertwined as they grow throughout Saint Maud. Did Ehle and Clark discuss that shared growth?
  • 10:30 - Clark, Rose and Ehle on being part of a team of extremely talented female filmmakers.
  • 11:28 - The unsung hero of Saint Maud.

There, but for the grace of God, goes Maud, a reclusive young nurse whose impressionable demeanour causes her to pursue a pious path of Christian devotion after an obscure trauma. Now charged with the hospice care of Amanda, a retired dancer ravaged by cancer, Maud's fervent faith quickly inspires an obsessive conviction that she must save her ward's soul from eternal damnation — whatever the cost.

saint-maud-morfydd-clark
Image via TIFF