Passing Screening followed by pre-recorded Q&A with Director Rebecca Hall

**Please note this is an in-person event.**

Tuesday 14 December 2021, 17:45 – 20:30

The Soho Hotel | 4 Richmond Mews | London W1D 3DH

Join WFTV and Netflix for a special screening of Passing at The Soho Hotel. This screening will be followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with Director/Writer/Producer Rebecca Hall.

Together, they will speak about their journey coming to work on Passing, their character discoveries, shooting a monochromatic film and the importance of sharing this story.

Passing

Adapted from the celebrated 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, Passing tells the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Academy Award nominee Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in late 1920s New York.

After a chance encounter reunites the former childhood friends one summer afternoon, Irene reluctantly allows Clare into her home, where she ingratiates herself to Irene’s husband (André Holland) and family, and soon her larger social circle as well. As their lives become more deeply intertwined, Irene finds her once-steady existence upended by Clare, and Passing becomes a riveting examination of obsession, repression and the lies people tell themselves and others to protect their carefully constructed realities.

Acclaimed upon its premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Passing marks the directorial debut of Rebecca Hall, who also adapted the screenplay. The film intimately uses the notion of “passing” to explore not just racial identity but gender and the responsibilities of motherhood, sexuality and the performance of femininity.

Passing was directed by: Rebecca Hall, written By: Rebecca Hall (Based on the novel by Nella Larsen), produced By: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker, Margot Hand, Rebecca Hall and cast is Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, and Alexander Skarsgard.

Rebecca Hall, Writer, Director, Producer

Rebecca Hall is an acclaimed British-American actress and filmmaker whose career encompasses the multiplex, the art house cinema, and the world’s most respected theaters. She has worked with many of the industry’s greatest artists, establishing herself as a leading talent as she challenges herself with each new role.

Hall’s directorial debut, which she also wrote and produced, Passing, premiered at the 2021 Sundance Festival to critical acclaim. The film is based on an adaptation of Nella Larsen’s 1920’s Harlem Renaissance novel of the same name that tells the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in late 1920s New York. After a chance encounter reunites the former childhood friends one summer afternoon, Irene reluctantly allows Clare into her home, where she ingratiates herself to Irene’s husband (played by André Holland) and family, and soon her larger social circle as well. As their lives become more deeply intertwined, the film unfolds as an examination of obsession, repression and the lies people tell themselves and others to protect their carefully constructed realities. Passing is on Netflix now.

Additionally, she recently wrapped production on With/In, a made-at-home anthology film revolving around themes of confinement and isolation. Directed by Morgan Spector and Maya Singer, Hall can be seen in the installment Mother!! opposite Spector and Singer.

Notably, Hall’s work includes Antonio Campos’ Christine, with Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, and Maria Dizzia, in a portrayal that garnered critical acclaim. Based on true events, the film captures the young and troubled newscaster, Christine Chubbuck, during her time at a small-town television station in the 1970s. Additionally, her work in Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona alongside Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, and Javier Bardem garnered her Golden Globe, BAFTA Orange Rising Star, London Critics Circle and Gotham Award nominations in the performance and breakthrough categories.

Her other film credits include Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong; Max Minghella’s Teen Spirit; Etan Cohen’s Holmes & Watson; Mamoru Hosoda’s animated drama Mirai; Angela Robinson’s Professor Marston & The Wonder Women oppo­site Luke Evans and Bella Heathcote; Brian Crano’s Permission alongside Dan Stevens; Oren Moverman’s The Dinner, co-starring alongside Richard Gere, Laura Linney and Steve Coogan; Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, with Mark Rylance and Ruby Barnhill; Joel Edgerton’s The Gift opposite himself and Jason Bateman; Sean Mewshaw’s Tumbledown oppo­site Jason Sudeikis; Wally Pfister’s Transcendence, opposite Johnny Depp and Paul Bettany; Patrice Leconte’s A Prom­ise starring alongside Alan Rickman; John Crowley’s Closed Circuit; Shane Black’s Iron Man 3; Stephen Frears’ Lay the Favorite; Nick Murphy’s The Awakening, for which she earned a British Independent Film Award Nomination and Gotham Independent Film Award nomination for Best Actress; Ben Affleck’s The Town, which received the 2010 National Board of Review Award for Best Ensemble; Dan Rush’s Everything Must Go; Nicole Holofcener’s Please Give, for which the cast and filmmakers were honored with the Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award and a Gotham Independent Film Award nomination for Best Ensemble Performance; Oliver Parker’s Dorian Gray; Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon, for which she shared in a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Cast Performance; Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, for which she received UK Empire Award and London Critics Circle Award nominations for Best Newcomer; and Tom Vaughan’s Starter For 10, her feature film debut.

In television, Hall was recently seen in Mark Romanek’s Tales from the Loop, an hour-long genre Amazon series based on the acclaimed sci-fi art of Simon Stålenhag. Prior to that, starred in Susanna White’s acclaimed miniseries Parade’s End for HBO and BBC, which was adapted by Tom Stoppard from Ford Madox Ford’s tetralogy of novels. For her role, Hall received a Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA TV Award nomination for Leading Actress, and a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries. Her other television credits include Julian Jarrold’s Red Riding: 1974, for which she won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress; Philip Martin’s Einstein and Eddington; Stephen Poliakoff’s Joe’s Palace; Brendan Maher’s Wide Sargasso Sea; Stuart Orme’s Don’t Leave Me This Way; and Peter Hall’s The Camomile Lawn.

On stage, Hall received an Ian Charleson Award for her West End portrayal of ‘Vivie’ in Mrs. Warren’s Profession. The following year, she was recognized with an Ian Charleson Award for her portrayal of ‘Rosalind’ in As You Like It, which opened at the Theatre Royal Bath and later toured in both the UK and the US. Building on this success, Hall received the same commendation for her portrayal of ‘Hermione’ in The Bridge Project’s production of A Winter’s Tale. The actress made her Broadway debut in the Round­about Theatre Company’s Machinal, written by Sophie Treadwell and directed by Olivier-winner Lyndsey Turner. She was also seen in The Atlantic Theater Company’s production of Animal, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch.

Event Schedule:

17:45 Arrivals

18:15 Screening

19:55 Pre recorded Q&A with Rebecca Hall begins

20:30 Approx. end time

This event is for existing WFTV members only.

If you are not a member and would like to join, membership costs just £100 + VAT/yr, please click here or email admin@wftv.org.uk

COVID-19 and WFTV Events

We want to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to make our events as safe as possible. Our COVID-19 safety measures will be updated according to UK government guidelines, but it is requested that you please read and adhere to the following:

1. Regular use of hand sanitiser, which will be available at the event.
2. Presenting proof of vaccination upon arrival:

· NHS COVID Pass (England)

· Vaccination Status Letter (Scotland)

· Welsh NHS COVID Pass (Wales)

· COVIDCert NI app (Northern Ireland)

· EU COVID Certificate (Europe)

OR a negative lateral flow test result, registered with and showing a result (by text or email) from the NHS within 24 hours of the event.