The Testament of Ann Lee brings the Shaker aesthetic to the big screen

Meticulously crafted wooden tables, chairs and cabinets have come to symbolise the Shakers, but there was much more to this religious sect than furniture, as a new film reveals. The Testament of Ann Lee stars Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, the spiritual mother of the ‘Quaker Shakers,’ so-called for their worship through ecstatic movement and dance.

Lee, born in Manchester in 1736, emigrated to the US and built communities based around self-sufficiency, celibacy and intense worship. Her revelations and uncompromising faith earned her a devoted following and the title of ‘Mother Ann,’ but she was hounded by authorities and branded a heretic. The film’s writer and director, Mona Fastvold, describes her as America’s ‘first feminist.’

The Testament of Ann Lee: Q&A with director Mona Fastvold

Wallpaper*: The film is a rich biopic with a strong visual arc. How did you depict this?

Mona Fastvold: Ann Lee was born in the chaos of pre-industrial Manchester, a world crowded with bodies, animals, poverty, and noise. There was no physical or spiritual room to breathe, so starting the film there felt essential and it moves from suffocation to spaciousness both visually and emotionally. As the story progresses and Ann begins shaping the Shaker community, the world gradually opens up. The lines become cleaner, the palette quieter, and the frames more balanced. The Shaker aesthetic – its simplicity and order – becomes a reflection of Ann’s longing for clarity and transcendence.

W*: The film’s score, by composer Daniel Blumberg, echoes Shaker hymns and sets the tone for choreography that channels the ecstatic physicality of Shaker ritual.

MF: The music began very early. Daniel and I immersed ourselves in Shaker hymns long before casting was finalised. Because the Shakers worshipped through movement and song, I wanted their sound to inform the film's tone and structure from the start. Amanda was the only person I could imagine as Ann. She carries a rare combination of vulnerability and fierce conviction. The role required someone who can be tender one moment and utterly unshakeable the next, and Amanda was fearless. She approached the Manchester accent, the singing, the dancing, and the emotional demands with complete commitment.

W*: The film is a rich biopic with a strong visual arc. Tell us about the scenography.

MF: We used traditional matte painting – a technique that predates digital visual effects. We shot on 35mm because I wanted the texture and imperfection of film, certain sets – buildings, landscapes, skies – were painted by hand then captured on film. These were combined with the footage we shot on set to complete the final frame – with the help of VFX. It was a very handcrafted approach, but it suited the material perfectly. The Shakers were builders and makers who believed in the spiritual value of labour. Using older, tactile techniques felt truthful to the world we were creating. The visual arc mirrors her journey – from chaos and survival to a determined attempt to build something harmonious, meaningful, and entirely new.

W*: Lee emigrated to the US in 1774 and built communities there. Did you source original Shaker furniture?

MF: Original pieces exist at Hancock Shaker Village, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the MFA Boston, and other collections – but many are too fragile or too valuable to use on a working set, so production designer Sam Bader and our team of craftspeople recreated it. Hancock Shaker Village gave us access to original blueprints and drawings so we could recreate items as accurately as possible and we worked with their historical re-enactors, who demonstrated how to make boxes, baskets, peg rails, and so on, and taught our actors the original techniques. Some of the pieces we needed simply don’t survive today but we did find and use one original Shaker chair.

W: It’s a historical tale with religion at its centre, yet it feels contemporary. Why is this so?

MF: Because we’re living in a moment when many people are rethinking how we live, how we build community, and how we care for one another. The Shakers were imperfect, of course, but some of their ideals – equality, shared labour, devotion to craft, and the belief that a better world must be created, not inherited - resonate deeply today. Ann’s life speaks to anyone [who] feels outside the systems they were born into. She imagined a different way of being, and she fought fiercely for it. That courage and conviction feel especially meaningful now.