IOL Lifestyle and Filmfinity are giving away a set of double tickets to see Mary Shelley - the story of Frankenstein and a copy of the book for readers in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Kwazulu Natal.
The film celebrates Mary Shelley for the trailblazing woman that she was, and director Al Mansour shows how the struggles of Mary’s youth swiftly matured her understanding of women's place in the world.
She will forever be remembered as the writer who gave the world Frankenstein, but the real-life story of Mary Shelley, and how one of the world’s most famous monsters came to life, is nearly as ‘fantastical’ as her fiction. The film opens at South African cinemas nationwide on the 3rd of August, aptly ahead of Women’s Day.
Directed by Haifaa Al Mansour, Mary Shelley is a biographical film about Frankenstein’s author. It attempts to make some sense of Shelley’s remarkable and wild life, while tracing the journey that led her to create one of the most indelible fictional creatures of all time.
The film offers continuity for Al Mansour, who leapt into the spotlight with her liberating first film Wadjda – set in the oppressive society of her native Saudi Arabia – as both films deal with the determination of a female protagonist to accomplish a goal that will confirm her independence.
In Mary Shellley, Al Mansour and screenwriter Emma Jensen, tells the story of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Elle Fanning), a teenage dreamer determined to make her mark on the world. Set in the 18th century, the film is a traditional yet richly designed period piece.
Explaining why she took on the film, Al Mansour says: “I thought Mary Shelley needed recognition. As women, we need to celebrate figures like her because it gives us a solid legacy to lean on when we’re moving forward. I felt immediately that I needed to tell her story.”