Autumn de Wilde wanted Emma to 'heal' audiences

Autumn de Wilde wanted her movie Emma to be a "cure" for those feeling depressed about the state of the world.

The big-screen adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular character, alongside Johnny Flynn, Mia Goth, Josh O'Connor, Miranda Hart, and Bill Nighy.

While the movie was recently bumped from cinemas amid the global coronavirus outbreak and moved to at-home video-on-demand services, de Wilde originally wanted the period romantic drama to serve as a cure for her "depression" over U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies.

“I’ve always really valued escape – things that transport you and take your mind off of something,” she told Variety, and said she was content with the film now being used to help audiences who are watching from home.

“There’s a lot of fun made of romantic comedies, but I think that it is a really healing place for people," the 49-year-old filmmaker added.

De Wilde also teased the prospect of new projects in the pipeline, but admitted that their status is uncertain as movie releases are being postponed by film studios as the Covid-19 virus rages.

But she's happy with her feature film debut and is enjoying the critical success of Emma after years of feeling overlooked.

“It was very exciting for this movie to come out and have people interested in talking to me about ideas. I wasn’t in a rush to commit to one of them, because there was a long period of my career where I felt often overlooked,” de Wilde explained. “And I’ve had some amazing experiences in my career — and a lot of times when I couldn’t pay my bills, mostly when I was a single mom. So it’s very exciting.”