Mia Hansen-Løve’s Upcoming Film: A Period Drama on Feminist Mary Wollstonecraft

The next film from French director Mia Hansen-Løve, known for “Things to Come” and “One Fine Morning,” will be a period drama centered on the life of the pioneering English writer and activist Mary Wollstonecraft.

Hansen-Løve is both writing and directing “If Love Should Die,” focusing on Wollstonecraft, an 18th-century visionary writer widely regarded as one of the founding philosophers of feminism. Filming is scheduled to commence in 2025, taking place in the U.K., France, Scandinavia, and Portugal.

“My ambition is to capture with as much acuity and truth as possible this pivotal era and the life of a woman that cinema has never before looked at,” Hansen-Løve stated. “Iconic in England, Mary Wollstonecraft is not known in France. That suits me: making a film about a figure who is too predictable, or too famous, has never interested me. I am attracted to characters engaged in a quest, devoid of certainties. The souls of artists, no doubt, but I am inspired by the most fragile, the most vulnerable among them.”

Arthouse streamer Mubi is supporting the production, in conjunction with Arte France Cinéma, with Mubi’s sales arm, The Match Factory, handling global sales. Co-producers include Caspian Films (Georgie Paget and Thembisa Cochrane), Les Films Pelléas (David Thion and Philippe Martin), Our Films (Lorenzo Mieli), and Norway’s Mer Film.

“If Love Should Die” follows Hansen-Løve’s previous works, “One Fine Morning” (2022), an autobiographically-flavored drama starring Léa Seydoux, and “Bergman Island” (2021), starring Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps. Mubi released “One Fine Morning” in the U.K. and Ireland. In a statement, the company expressed that it was “honored to be working with Mia again.”