Culture Cinema & Tv Interviews

Vita & Virginia premiere, Chanya Button: “Our film defies convention”

Vita & Virginia premiere, Chanya Button: “Our film defies convention”

Vita & Virginia, the latest feature from director Chanya Button, charts the love affair between one of the most iconic British authors of the 20th century, Virginia Woolf, and fellow novelist and socialite Vita Sackville-West.

When Vita (Elizabeth Debicki) comes across Virginia (Gemma Arterton), she is determined to win the heart of the revolutionary writer at any cost. The film follows the twists and turns of their blossoming relationship, portraying in a fittingly contemporary style how the two women navigated sexual expectations to transcend the social boundaries of the period. As their bond grows, so too does the inspiration for one of Woolf’s most iconic novels, an experiment in androgynous identity, Orlando.

We caught up with Button at the film’s UK premiere at BFI Flare. She told us about her joy at being able to present a movie which defies convention at a festival that celebrates love in all its forms, and the authenticity of the story.

Rosamund Kelby
Interviewer: Filippo L’Astorina
Video: Laura Denti

Vita & Virginia is released nationwide on 12th July 2019.

Watch the trailer for Vita & Virginia here:

More in Cinema & Tv

Thunderbolts

Mae Trumata

British filmmaker Molly Manning Walker to lead Un Certain Regard Jury at 2025 Cannes Film Festival

The editorial unit

Prime Video sets May 2025 premiere for Nine Perfect Strangers season two with new cast and Austrian Alps setting

The editorial unit

New horror-thriller Weapons set for UK cinema release in August 2025

The editorial unit

“He’s stuck in between two chapters of his life”: Jan-Ole Gerster on Islands

Selina Sondermann

Parthenope

Mark Worgan

Another Simple Favour

Antonia Georgiou

“Every time I work with Gareth, I learn more about storytelling through action and action through storytelling”: Jude Poyer on Havoc

Mae Trumata

“I link the character’s body to my own so I can feel their pain”: Emilie Blichfeldt on The Ugly Stepsister

Selina Sondermann