In mid-18th Century Manchester, a devout Quaker named Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) – traumatised as a child by the sight of her parents having sex followed by the loss of her own four children before they turned one – finds herself in prison because of her faith.
Mona Fastvold’s remarkable film The Testament of Ann Lee suggests that the combination of sexual trauma and the malnutrition experienced in jail, provokes a vision of herself as the Second Coming of Christ, a message that finds enough receptive ears for her to become the centre of a small congregation.
Harassed by the traditional religious powers and sensing that the new world of the Americas would be more open to her message of chastity, equality and humility, Lee persuades a handful of followers to travel to New York and start a new life.
This video is hosted on Youtube.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
