Strand Releasing and Water’s End Productions announced today, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, that they will move the U.S. theatrical release of Tom Dolby’s feature film The Artist’s Wife, starring Lena Olin and Bruce Dern, to later this year. The film was originally scheduled to be released in New York on April 3rd at the Angelika Film Center and Landmark 57, in Los Angeles on April 10th at Laemmle’s Royal, Playhouse, and Town Centre theaters and in San Francisco on April 17th at Landmark’s Embarcadero and East Bay theaters.
The Artist’s Wife centers on the journey of Claire (Lena Olin), as she comes to terms with the onset of dementia in her famous artist husband, Richard (Bruce Dern).
“With our particular audience as well as the general public’s safety in mind, we have decided to delay the release of The Artist’s Wife. This film is about love and hope bringing people together in the face of adversity, and it’s important to us that as much of our audience as possible is able to see it in a group setting. We’re enthusiastic about showing the film when the time is right,” said director Tom Dolby.
The Artist’s Wife has been playing to festival audiences around the country, including the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Hamptons International Film Festival, the Mill Valley Film Festival, and the Whistler Film Festival. It will screen next at the Sarasota Film Festival in April.
In The Artist’s Wife, Claire (Lena Olin) lives a domestic life in the Hamptons as the wife of celebrated artist Richard Smythson (Bruce Dern). Once a promising painter herself, Claire now lives in the shadow of her husband’s illustrious career. While preparing work for his final show, Richard’s moods become increasingly erratic, and he is diagnosed with dementia. As his memory and behavior deteriorate, she shields his condition from the art community while trying to reconnect him with his estranged daughter and grandson from a previous marriage. Challenged by the loss of her world as she knew it, Claire must now decide whether to stand with Richard on the sidelines or step into the spotlight herself. The Artist’s Wife stars Lena Olin and Bruce Dern, with Juliet Rylance, Avan Jogia, and Stefanie Powers, and is directed by Tom Dolby.
