Comic creator Bryan Talbot, (Grandville, The Adventures of Luther Arkwright) has played an instrumental part in the making of Leonora in the Morning Light, the first feature film about the famous surrealist painter Leonora Carrington, which is currently seeking crowdfunding support to complete visual effects work.
Based on the bestselling novel Leonora by Elena Poniatowska, the film is an international collaboration spanning Germany, Romania, Mexico and the UK, between filmmakers Lena Vurma and Thor Klein, and is set to be released in early 2025. Currently in post-production, a Kickstarter was launched last month to raise £40,000 for the visual effects work needed to complete the film, after the production lost some crucial funding. Almost £8000 has been raised so far.
The project is Lena Vurma and Thor Klein’s third collaboration, following the award-winning Adventures of a Mathematician.
Artist and writer Bryan Talbot needs no introduction to most downthetubes readers, whose work we have regularly promoted. A recent inductee into the Will Eisner Awards Hall of Fame, he’s the creator of several multiple award-winning graphic novels, such as The Tale of One Bad Rat, the Grandville series, and The Adventures of Alice in Sunderland.
He worked on DC Comics such as Batman: Dark Legends, Hellblazer (with Jamie Delano), Sandman (with Neil Gaiman) and the 200-page prestige format creator-owned series The Nazz (with Tom Veitch).
Last year, SelfMadeHero published Armed with Madness: The Surreal Leonora, co-created with his wife Mary M. Talbot, an internationally acclaimed scholar of gender, language and power who also writes graphic novels, including the award-winning Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes.
Much like the film, Armed with Madness follows Leonora through the 1930s Paris art scene and beyond, shedding light on her life as a neglected artist, feminist icon, and influential figure during the surrealist movement.
“Bryan graciously dove back into the Carrington universe to exclusively illustrate four chapter cards that will be featured throughout the film, summoning Leonora`s spirit,” explain the film makers, Lena Vurma and Thor Klein.
Leonora in the Morning Light tells the story of British artist Leonora Carrington, played on screen by Olivia Vinall, known for her roles in Apple Tree Yard, The Woman in White and as Detective Matilda Stone in Queens of Mystery.
Also in the cast are the award-winning German actor, Alexander Scheer as Max Ernst; Luis Gerardo Mendez (Narcos/ Charlie’s Angels), who portrays two antagonistic characters; Ryan Gage (Alfrid Lickspittle from The Hobbit), who takes on the role of Edward James; and Mexican actress and producer Cassandra Ciangherotti, best known for her role in the 2015 Mexican drama film, The Hours with You.
Born in Clayton-le-Woods, Lancashire, Leonora Carrington (6th April 1917 – 25th May 2011) is recognised as a key female Surrealist painter, and the film charts her creative and personal experiences in France, Spain and Mexico. She is celebrated as the highest-selling British female artist of all time and ranks among the top five worldwide (alongside Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keeffe). In addition to her artistry, she was a gifted writer, with works like Down Below and The Hearing Trumpet, that contribute to her legacy.
“This film is a healing journey, following Leonora’s rebellion against societal expectations and her descent into the surreal subconscious, marked by thunderous chaos as her world falls apart,” Lena explains on the crowdfunding page. “The film follows the life of Leonora Carrington, one of the most significant female surrealist artists who combined indigenous Mexican mythology and Celtic folklore in her art to create fantastical, abstract worlds that reflected her unique perspective. While she has recently been touted as one of the best-selling female artists, her life has yet to be explored on film.
“As we prepare to make the final touches in post-production, we need your support to finish the film. After losing a crucial funding source at the last minute, we need your help to complete the visual effects, allowing the mythical hyena – an iconic symbol of Leonora’s turbulent journey – to come to life. This untamed creature serves as a manifestation of her struggles and triumphs, and with your contribution, we will create a stunning VFX hyena that embodies her spirit.
“With your contributions, we can ensure that Leonora in the Morning Light becomes a vibrant tribute to the healing power of creativity that celebrates the remarkable artist that Leonora Carrington was.”
The hyena features in Leonora’s dark short story, The Debutante, featured in the 1975 collection, The Oval Lady (and, more recently, in The Debutante and Other Stories), which tells of a young girl’s hatred for all the pomp and circumstance of her upbringing, and the rigid lifestyle forced upon her. After befriending a hyena she met at the zoo, she confides in the animal her anxiety at the upcoming party her mother’s throwing for her. The hyena has a cunning plan – if the girl sneaks her out of the zoo, then she can attend the party in the girl’s place. (There’s a nasty twist to this tale, of course, but no spoilers here!).
The Debutante has itself inspired filmmakers, including Elizabeth Hobbs, who created an animated adaptation produced by Animate Projects, with the support of the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery, and with thanks to the Estate of Leonora Carrington.
Those who pledge support to complete the film have the opportunity to receive various rewards featuring Bryan’s artwork, made exclusively for the film.
The rewards include four postcards featuring Bryan’s illustrations for the chapter cards in the film. As well as a patch featuring Bryan’s hyena illustration, a t-shirt featuring Bryan’s hyena illustration, featured in Armed with Madness, and four individual pieces of art signed by Bryan Talbot. These individual illustrations signed by Bryan are one-of-a-kind, unique pencil drawings, available for a limited time.
• Support Leonora in the Morning Light VFX crowdfunder on Kickstarter here
• Follow the film project @leonoramovie on Instagram and X and Facebook at Leonora Movie
• BFI: Leonora in the Morning Light Profile
• Bryan Talbot is online at bryan-talbot.com
• Mary M. Talbot is online at mary-talbot.co.uk
• Armed With Madness: The Surreal Leonora Carrington (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Reluctant muse and feminist champion… society heiress and rebel refugee… the last of the Surrealists: Leonora Carrington played many roles in her long and extraordinary life.
Renouncing her privileged upbringing in pre-war England for the more exciting elite of Paris’s 1930s avant-garde, she comes to rub shoulders (and more) with the likes of Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, and Salvador Dalí, after embarking on a complicated love affair with Max Ernst. But the demons that have both haunted and inspired her work are gathering, and when the world goes mad with the outbreak of war and the Nazi invasion, Leonora’s own hold on reality collapses into a terrifying psychotic episode of her own.
Eventually fleeing war-torn Europe, she emerges into a new and richly creative life in Mexico City, establishing herself as a prodigious painter, writer, and advocate of women’s rights. This new work by the acclaimed partnership of Mary M. Talbot and Bryan Talbot celebrates the life and career of a truly remarkable woman – and artist.
• Leonora by Elena Poniatowska (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Translated by Amanda Hopkinson
Poniatowska paints a picture of a troubled woman who personifies the dreams and nightmares of the twentieth century.
Elena Poniatowska is Mexico’s greatest living novelist. She currently lives in Coyoacán, a quiet suburb of Mexico City where the likes of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and an exiled Leon Trotsky famously resided. Fluent in English, French and Spanish, Poniatowska has published novels, non-fiction books and essays and been translated into over twenty languages. She is one of the founders of La Jornada, the feminist magazine Fern, publishing house Siglo XXI and Mexican national film institute Cineteca Nacional. For over fifty years she was a close friend of Leonora Carrington’s, until the latter’s death in 2011.
Amanda Hopkinson has edited several books on photography, including Between Ourselves, with Mari Mahr and Adults in Wonderland with Grace Lau, both published by Serpent’s Tail. She is Literature Officer for the Arts Council of England.
• The Leonora Carrington Foundation
The Leonora Carrington Foundation aims to promote and disseminate music, plastic arts, dramatic arts, dance, literature, architecture and cinematography. As well as support for artistic education and research activities
• Wikipedia: Leonora Carrington
• WikiArts: Leonora Carrington
• Disinfo (Archived): Leonora Carrington’s Surrealist Paintings
- About the Author
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics – Graphic Novels, Comics, Crowd Funding Projects, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Film, Other Worlds
