The American Film Market is on the horizon, and a new drama focused on Helen Keller from writer/director Wash Westmoreland (“Still Alice”) will be one of the latest projects up for sale. It’s been announced that Westmoreland co-wrote “Helen & Teacher” with Laetitia Mikles, which will see rising young actress Millicent Simmonds (“A Quiet Place Part II“) play college-aged Helen Keller, the world-famous Deafblind activist, and Emmy-winner Rachel Brosnahan (“The Courier“) as Anne Sullivan, her committed yet controlling translator and companion. Interestingly enough, Simmonds happens to be a distant cousin of Keller.
“Helen & Teacher” is set during the early 1990s and follows the story of Helen Keller’s time at Radcliff College of Harvard University, her expanding worldview and sexual awakening brings her into conflict with her conservative translator Anne Sullivan, the woman who helped Helen, a Deafblind girl discover a way to communicate (explored in the film “The Miracle Worker“). When Sullivan is courted by the young and brilliant publisher, John Macy, tensions escalate between the two women threatening the bonds of their friendship.
Cornerstone will handle international sales and distribution while UTA Independent Film Group and WME overseeing the domestic side.
“Most people only know of Helen Keller’s story from when she was a child. ‘Helen & Teacher’ will look at her as a young adult when she developed a radical, world-changing political voice. Today, when some TikTok threads dispute Helen Keller’s achievements and even her existence, it is time for a film that shows her relevance, her brilliance, and her unbreakable spirit,” Westmoreland said of the new film.
Rachel Brosnahan continues to branch away from her hit television series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” as she took a crucial role in a new western thriller “Dead For A Dollar“ from director Walter Hill that has her starring alongside Christoph Waltz (“Django Unchained“) and Willem Dafoe (“The Lighthouse“).
The new pic sounds like a very compelling and complex drama. Hopefully, it will allow Simmonds to potentially be thrown into awards consideration, depending on how the project turns out and how critics ultimately receive it. An increase of working deaf actors in Hollywood is undoubtedly refreshing alongside opening future doors for actors that don’t always get the same opportunities, another giant step towards true inclusion.
