Since seeing James McAvoy ham it up as the titular monster-maker, director Haifaa al-Mansour might wonder if we’ve had enough of Frankenstein movies by now. However, if there’s one story that we’d welcome, one that has hitherto remained untold, it’s that of the original story’s author, Mary Shelley.
A trailblazer for female writers, Shelley’s own story is a fascinating tale of an outsider dealing with a variety of obstacles before achieving success, and the process she went through before publishing her seminal work is something screenwriter Emma Jensen’s script focuses on for the new movie, imaginatively titled, Mary Shelley.
We met up with Haifaa al-Mansour, who helmed the new movie, to ask her about being a leading light in the world of female directors, and how a Saudi Arabian director with no experience of period dramas figured out how to depict 19th century London.
Watch the full interview below:
