“Firebrand”, interview with director Karim Aïnouz

Almost two years after premiering at the Rome International Film Fest, the 2023 edition, “Firebrand – L’Ultima regina is out in italian cinemas with Vertice 360. Directed by Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz and starring Alicia Vikander as Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, and Jude Law as the king , the film is based on the novel Queen’s Gambit (now “Firebrand“) by Elizabeth Fremantle. “Firebrand“ explores Katherine Parr’s life, her role as queen, and her attempt to navigate the dangerous court of Henry VIII. She is portrayed as a passionate advocate for religious change and a loving stepmother to Henry’s children. As also Wikipedia quotes, if it hadn’t been for Katherine Parr, there would be no Queen Elizabeth in the history of the world so the question of why we’ve almost never heard of her is consistent. The answer to this question is simple for Karim Aïnouz: “Stories like Katherine Parr’s were always there and we just didn’t know because people with the power, the ones that write history, chose to not tell them”.