Inspirational film ‘White Bird: A Wonder Story’ opens March 20

CEBU, Philippines — Ayala Malls Cinemas continues to bring world-class, critically acclaimed films for movie enthusiasts with the anticipated film, “White Bird: A Wonder Story” – a follow-up to 2017’s “Wonder”, the beloved coming-of-age drama based on R.J. Palacio’s bestseller novel of the same name. Directed by Marc Forster (A Man Called Otto, Finding Neverland), “White Bird” opens exclusively in Ayala Malls Cinemas on March 20, months ahead of the film’s U.S. release in October.

“White Bird: A Wonder Story” is based on the critically acclaimed, beloved graphic novel of the same name by R.J. Palacio, the author of “Wonder.” This fictional film is the creative companion piece drawn from the universe of Lionsgate’s 2017 box office hit “Wonder”, starring Jacob Tremblay, Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts.

For millions of readers and moviegoers, “Wonder” is the captivating, inspiring, and uplifting story of the power of kindness – how it can build bridges and change hearts. In “White Bird”, kindness even has the power to save lives, as Julian Albans (Bryce Gheisar, reprising his role from the previous film), the bully who left Beecher Prep, is visited by his Grandmère (Academy Award winner Helen Mirren) from Paris and is transformed by her remarkable story of compassion and courage.

As a girl in Nazi-occupied France during WWII, the young Grandmère goes into hiding with the help of a schoolmate, a young man who risks everything to give her the chance to survive. Together, they find beauty and love in the secret world of their own creation.

From Marc Forster, director of “Finding Neverland” and Christopher Robin, “White Bird” – just like its predecessor “Wonder” – is an emotional story about the ways that even in the most harrowing circumstances, an act of kindness for others can make every difference in the world.

Elaborating on his creative process, Forster offers, “We like to choose stories that have the ability to raise consciousness in the world and ‘Wonder’ definitely did that.” As the graphic novel “White Bird” also offered Forster and executive producer Renée Wolfe a similar opportunity, albeit on an even wider spectrum, they became deeply interested in further exploring Julian Albans’ redemptive journey and bringing it to the screen.

Mirren, who plays Grandmère, elaborates on Julian’s predicament. “As many young teenagers do, he’s going through a difficult time when he can’t quite find his place in the world and he’s lashing out as a reaction to that.” Adds Gheisar, who plays Julian, “Julian in this film has changed in many ways since ‘Wonder.’ He’s realized that what he did was wrong, but he doesn’t really understand why.”

By sharing her extraordinary tale of survival and her memories of the harrowing times she experienced at exactly his age, Grandmère hopes to help Julian understand that the world is a complicated and, sometimes, dark place. “But as Martin Luther King says, you have to find the light within yourself. Darkness will never drive out darkness. So that is the lesson that she is trying to teach him, simply through telling him her life story,” adds Mirren.

“White Bird: A Wonder Story” was screened at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival in July 2023, and premiered in Italy January this year. Writes Variety in their review: “Palacio’s book is fairly on-the-nose in messaging, symbolism and imagery. Forster brings a more refined visual sensibility that is inviting without being over-glamorized, opening up a potentially claustrophobic tale in ways that enhance its impact. Shot in the Czech Republic, the rural environs have a slight storybook quality in Matthias Konigswieser’s very attractive widescreen cinematography.”