“Ammonite,” June 16

Sunday, June 16, 4 p.m.

Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA

Presented as the second of four Pride Month events in the Figge Art Museum's Free Film at the Figge series, the award-winning 2020 romantic drama Ammonite enjoys a June 16 screening in the Davenport venue's John Deere Auditorium, writer/director Francis Lee's film hailed by Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus for the "chemistry between Saoirse Ronan and a never-better Kate Winslet."

As Ammonite is described by See Saw Films, "In 1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) works alone on the rugged Southern coastline. With the days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now searches for common fossils to sell to tourists to support herself and her ailing mother. When a wealthy visitor entrusts Mary with the care of his wife Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan), she cannot afford to turn his offer down. Proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, Mary initially clashes with her unwelcome guest, but despite the distance between their social class and personalities, an intense bond begins to develop, compelling the two women to determine the true nature of their relationship."

Principal photography on Ammonite began in March of 2019, in Lyme Regis, Dorset, and its scenes were shot chronologically in order to deepen the immersion in the characters' psychological trajectory, with David Tucker, director of the Lyme Regis Museum, consulting on the film's scientific accuracy. The film was initially set to world premiere at 2020's Cannes Film Festival, prior to its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was also selected to screen at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado in September of that year, prior to its cancellation also due to the pandemic. Ammonite finally had its long-delayed debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September of that year, where Winslet was awarded TIFF's Tribute Actor Award. Following its public release, The Hollywood Reporter placed Lee's movie number four on the publication's best films of 2020 year-end list, and Ammonite placed at the 27th position on the IndieWire list of the 50 Best Movies of 2020 and 43rd on the Esquire year-end list. The movie also appeared on the RogerEbert.com "The Best Films of 2020" year-end list.

Ammonite will be screened at the Davenport venue on June 16, admission to the 4 p.m. showing is free, and audiences are invited to discuss the film afterward over a complimentary glass of wine. For more information on June's Free Film at the Figge series, call (563)326-7804 and visit FiggeArtMuseum.org.