''Wonderwell'' is a 2023 Italian-American fantasy film directed by Vlad Marsavin, produced by

Fred Roos Frederick Ried Roos (May 22, 1934 – May 18, 2024) was an American film producer and casting director. He was best known for his contributions to the New Hollywood movement, particularly through his collaborations with director Francis Ford Cop ...

, and based on the short story "Drainhole Dreaming" by William Brookfield. It stars

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...

(in her final film role before her death in 2016),

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...

, Kiera Milward, and

Nell Tiger Free Nell Tiger Free (born 13 October 1999) is an English actress and singer. She began her career as a child actress in the films '' Mr Stink'' and '' Broken'' (both 2012). She also played Myrcella Baratheon in seasons 5 and 6 of the HBO series ' ...

Synopsis

At 12 years old, Violet (Kiera Milward) lives in Italy with her parents (

Lloyd Owen Marcus Richard Lloyd Owen (born 14 April 1966) is a British actor. Despite being born in London, he considers himself Welsh due to both his parents being from Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part o ...

and

Megan Dodds Megan Dodds is an American actress. She played Kate in the 2006 series ''Not Going Out'', alongside Lee Mack and Tim Vine, and has appeared in the series '' Spooks'', ''House'', '' Detroit 1-8-7'', and '' CSI: NY'', and the films '' Ever After'' ...

) and her beautiful older sister Savannah (

). When she is selected to be the face of world-renowned designer Yana’s (

) fashion label, the family travels to an enchanting medieval village for her first photo shoot. Neglected and bored, Violet wanders from the ancient Tuscan town into a nearby forest where she meets the enigmatic Hazel (

), who may be the fabled witch of the woods Violet was warned about by Yana’s beleaguered stepson, Daniele (

Sebastian Croft Sebastian Theodore Kemble Croft (born 16 December 2001) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor on stage before making his television debut as Young Ned Stark in ''Game of Thrones'' (2016). He earned a BAFTA Children's Award n ...

). Guided by Hazel to a mysterious portal, Violet is offered a glimpse of what her future might hold, but like the transition from childhood to womanhood, it may be a journey of no return.

Cast

* Kiera Milward as Violet *

as Hazel *

as Yana *

as Savannah *

as Daniele *

Vincent Spano Vincent M. Spano Jr. (born October 18, 1962) is an American film, stage, and television actor, and a film director and producer. Early life Spano was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Italian-American parents Vincent Sr. and Theresa. Career ...

as Franco *

as Chlo *

as Adam * Niccolo Besio as Enrico

Production

Principal photography took place in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

and in

Cinecittà Studios Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City) is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constru ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

between October 2016 and February 2017. Several scenes were shot in ancient

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

towns San Gimigniano and

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History ...

. Veteran producer

, known for his lifelong collaboration with

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

, brought Fisher, Ora and a number of the key creative team to the project. Fisher, who passed away in late 2016, just six weeks after wrapping her scenes, leads the cast alongside British singer and actress

and newcomer Kiera Milward. The film's score, composed by William Ross, was performed by the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

. The late

Angelo Badalamenti Angelo Daniel Badalamenti (March 22, 1937 – December 11, 2022) was an American composer and arranger best known for his film music, notably the scores for his collaborations with director David Lynch, '' Blue Velvet'' (1986), ''Twin Peaks'' (1 ...

, known for his collaborations with

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

on projects including ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

'' and ''Mulholland Drive'', composed the film's "Violet’s Theme". One of the film's central characters, The Creature, was inspired by

Cel A cel, short for '' celluloid'', is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th cent ...

, the Etruscan goddess of the

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess *Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature * "Mother Ear ...

and designed by

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Daniele Auber, known for his works for

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...

and

Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French filmmaker. He directed and produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Associated with the '' Cinéma du look'' film movement, he h ...

. Due to interruptions with funding,

post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...

was extended until early 2020, and then, due to the

COVID-19 lockdowns During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Non-pharmaceutical intervention (epidemiology), non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar socie ...

, all work on the almost finished film was suspended for several months.

Release

On June 14, 2023, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' has announced that Vertical acquired North American, UK, and Ireland rights to the film and published an announcement of the film's release, and on June 16, 2023, it published the official theatrical poster and first official trailer. The film had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. and also appeared on all online platforms on June 23, 2023. ''Wonderwell'' was also released in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Slovakia, and the Benelux countries on November 24, 2023, by Splendid Film.

Reception

The release of the last Carrie Fisher film was welcomed with enthusiasm by her fans and by fans of the fantasy genre. Benjamin Lee of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' gave the film one out of five stars, deeming it "a rather limp, confusing little fantasy that could have been left gathering even more dust on the shelf without anyone needing to know". Independent blogger Mike Haberfelner called ''Wonderwell'' "a visually stunning film, full of impressive set designs", "a mix of coming-of-age story, dark fairy tale and thriller, in which well fleshed-out characters are embodied by a relatable ensemble cast, making this a pretty cool and pretty unusual ride." WORLDFILMGEEK portal said that “Wonderwell is a terrific and emotionally charged fantasy film that closes the book of a Hollywood icon. Carrie Fisher’s final performance is a wonderful delight to see as someone who not only loves the work but brings that iconic off-screen personality to the screens. We still miss Carrie Fisher, but there couldn’t be a better sendoff than this film.”

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2023 adventure films 2023 fantasy films 2023 films Films about children Films about witchcraft Italian fantasy films 2020s English-language films 2020s Italian films 2020s American films English-language fantasy films English-language adventure films