One of the most many films to world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival was The Wonder, a period drama based on the true story of the “Fasting Girls”, children who claimed to get all the nourishment they needed from their faith in God. Set in Ireland in the 1800s, The Wonder follows Florence Pugh as a nurse who is in charge of investigating the health conditions of 11-year-old Anna O'Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy), who claims to go months without eating. While Pugh’s Lib Wright gets closer to the young Anna, she starts to get suspicious about the girl being mistreated by the feverous Christian community where she lives, leading The Wonder to discuss the schism between religious faith and scientific facts.
Shortly before the premiere, Collider's own Steve Weintraub sat down with director Sebastián Lelio and writer Emma Donoghue to discuss the behind-the-scenes secrets of The Wonder at our TIFF studio.
Besides writing the script for The Wonder with Leilo and Alice Birch, Donoghue is also the author of the novel of the same name that inspired the movie. During our exclusive interview, Donoghue talked about helping to adapt her original work and how was her experience of being on set. Leilo also discussed how The Wonder is a movie about belief systems, a theme that orientates his main creative decisions. The duo also praised the whole cast of The Wonder, underlining how they expect people to be positively surprised by the fantastic work done by Pugh and Cassidy, and a lot more.
The Wonder will come to selected theaters this November 2, before premiering on Netflix on November 16. While you wait to catch The Wonder, check out our full interview, in which Lelio and Donoghue reveal:
- What is the first Lelio movie the director would like people to watch? And why?
- What is the first Donoghue book the author would like people to read? And why?
- If they could get the financing to do any project they’d like, what would they make?
- How would they describe The Wonder to people who haven’t seen it yet?
- How does it feel for an author to see a movie adaptation of their work for the first time?
- What is it like working with Netflix to bring a movie to life?
- What was Lelio’s motivation to open the film as he did?
- Why does Lelio use a lot of long shots in The Wonder?
- Which of the things she has written Donoghue would love to see adapted?
- How do they decide which story would better fit film or TV?
- What were the challenges of editing The Wonder? And how did early screenings impact the final cut?
- What are they most excited for people to see with The Wonder?
- Did Florence Pugh get attached to The Wonder before she became a Marvel star?
- What TV series would they love to guest direct and guest write?
- What movie do they think they’ve seen the most?
Special thanks to our TIFF 2022 partners A-list Communications, Belvedere Vodka, Marbl Toronto, COVERGIRL Canada, Tres Amici Wines, Toronto Star, and Blue Moon Belgian White beer.