Recipient of a stunning 15-minute standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival, this sweeping historical musical drama stars Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, the founder of the Shaker movement. Fleeing oppression in 18th-century England, Lee emerges in early America as a radical spiritual leader whose message of gender equality, communal devotion, celibacy, and ecstatic worship defies the rigid world around her.
Blending compelling drama with transcendent music sequences, the film reimagines Shaker hymns through hypnotic choreography and ritualistic movement, transforming song and dance into acts of rebellion and faith. As Lee’s inner fire ignites a revolutionary community, her journey becomes a powerful meditation on belief, community and spiritual freedom.
R | UK/USA | 2025 | 2h 17m
Directed by Mona Fastvold
Starring Amanda Seyfried
“The religious reveries of The Testament of Ann Lee alone make the movie worth watching… a joy of movement that’s mesmerizing.”
– NPR
“as a full-blown song-and-dance affair — about the least likely, biggest-swinging shape Lee’s story could take — the film is most stunningly persuasive.”
– Variety
The Strand Theatre’s films series is sponsored by LimeRock Inn
