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film · Wednesday 12 August 2026 · 7:30pm 
The Testament of Ann Lee - Solstice Arts Centre Navan
At Solstice Arts Centre · Railway Street, Navan, Co. Meath
At Solstice Arts Centre · Railway Street, Navan, Co. Meath
A remarkable piece of cinema comes to Navan this August when Solstice Arts Centre screens The Testament of Ann Lee, the historical musical drama that turned heads at the Venice Film Festival and earned Amanda Seyfried some of the best reviews of her career. Presented by ACCESS Cinema as the closing film in its summer 2026 programme, this is the kind of screening that works best in a proper arts venue with a committed audience - not a multiplex. If you have any interest in bold, challenging filmmaking or in the little-known story of the woman who founded the Shaker movement, this is worth the trip to Navan.
Directed by Mona Fastvold and co-written with Brady Corbet, the film follows Ann Lee from a factory in 18th-century Manchester to the American frontier, tracing the arc of a woman who went from poverty and personal trauma to founding one of early America’s most distinctive religious communities. Amanda Seyfried plays Ann with what critics at Venice called a “primal scream of a performance” - raw, physical, and vocally demanding. The supporting cast includes Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, and Christopher Abbott.
The film is not a conventional biopic. It is shot on 35mm, blending industrial Manchester interiors with American wilderness landscapes, and the worship sequences - the ecstatic communal dancing the Shakers were known for - are choreographed by Celia Rowlson-Hall into something genuinely strange and moving. Composer Daniel Blumberg reworked original Shaker hymns into an experimental score that pushes Seyfried’s vocals into unexpected territory. Running time is 137 minutes, so it asks something of you - and rewards it. Certificate 15A, English language.
Solstice Arts Centre is on Railway Street in Navan town centre, a short walk from the main bus stops. Bus Éireann operates regular services between Dublin and Navan - the journey from Dublin’s Busáras takes roughly an hour on the 109 route. If you are driving, Navan is about 50 km north-west of Dublin on the N3. Parking is available on-street in the town centre and in nearby council car parks, most within a few minutes’ walk of the venue.
Navan sits at the confluence of the Boyne and Blackwater rivers and is a natural base for exploring the wider county. There is more to see in Navan and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Solstice Arts Centre in Navan? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Navan area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.