Protagonist Pictures has announced that Elizabeth Debicki (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) and Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet) have joined Gemma Arterton (The Girl with All the Gifts) in the upcoming period drama Vita & Virginia, based on the love letters of Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West.
Arterton will take on the role of socialite Vita Sackville-West, with Debicki portraying Virginia Woolf (a role that was originally reported to be filled by Eva Green). The film will also feature Rupert Penry-Jones (The Strain) and Peter Ferdinando (Ghost in the Shell).
“Vita & Virginia will be a fresh, provocative study of creativity, passion, sex and sexuality; and it offers an exciting opportunity to bring the story behind the creation of Orlando, one of Virginia Woolf’s greatest works to life in a bold, vivid, contemporary way,” states director Chanya Button. “With my lifelong passion for Woolf’s writing, it is a great privilege to be working with such brilliant women as Gemma and Elizabeth, to bring the lives of Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf to the screen”.
Vita & Virginia will begin production in September, and explores the true story of the relationship between Sackville-West and Woolf. When their paths cross, the magnetic Vita decides the beguiling, stubborn and gifted Virginia will be her next conquest, no matter the cost. Vita and Virginia forge an unconventional affair and neither will ever be the same without the other.
Originally published August 23, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
