‘Revelations of Divine Love’ Trailer – Tessa Strain Stars in Caroline Golum’s Julian of Norwich Biopic

Tessa Strain stars as the 14th-century mystic Julian of Norwich in Revelations of Divine Love, an imaginative biographical drama directed by Caroline Golum.

Alongside Strain, the cast includes Theodore Bouloukos as Father Ambrose, Isabel Pask as Sarah, and Mary Jo Mecca as Julian’s mother.

Revelations of Divine Love first premiered at the 2025 FIDMarseille, and most recently played at the Montreal Critics’ Week film festival.

Following the festival run, Several Futures will release the independent film in U.S. theaters, opening on March 27 at Anthology Film Archives in New York City, alongside the series Revelations of the Middle Ages. Following a limited engagement at Anthology, it will continue with screenings in New York at Nitehawk Prospect Park (April 5), Low Cinema (April 11), Roxy Cinema (April 17-April 19, April 24-April 26), and Spectacle (April 24-26)—with Golum and special guests in attendance for all showings. Further cities and theatrical dates to be announced.

Revelations of Divine Love takes its name and inspiration from the text of the same name, penned by medieval anchoress Julian of Norwich, considered the earliest surviving English-language work written by a woman and dated to the 14th century.

An irreverent biopic vividly realized through fantastic psychedelia and handmade sets with an ever-topical feminist approach, Revelations of Divine Love recounts the life of 14th-century mystic and philosopher Julian of Norwich, whose account of religious ecstasy, plague, and revolt is considered to be the first book to be authored by a woman. The film envisions the life of Julian from her illness and the onset of her godly visions, through the years as she indulges in her desire to write and becomes a revered and holy figure to those in her town and beyond the city walls.

Rather than aspire for historical accuracy, Revelations of Divine Love is an act of evocation, not replication. Shot in Queens, New York on handcrafted sets and utilizing an array of practical effects, the film draws stylistically from illuminated manuscripts, the Pre-Raphaelites, and the first Renaissance Fairs held in Los Angeles in the 1960s.

Director Caroline Golum said, “Revelations of Divine Love is about a woman working outside the confines of a male-dominated institution during an era of economic, political, and social upheaval. We meet Julian when she is 30 years old, living at home, and dying of a mysterious illness. Over three days, she experiences a series of extraordinary visions. Moved by these “showings,” Julian adopts the life of a religious recluse, spending ensuing years recording her experiences. This first-hand account, completed 650 years ago, is the first book in English written by a woman.”

In a review from In Review Online covering its FIDMarseille 2025 premiere, Michael Sicinski wrote, “With its slow pace and the deliberate diction of her performers, Golum has produced a film of classical rigor and a not inconsiderable didactic impulse. In visual style, Revelations echoes the Brechtian approach of Manoel de Oliveira, with his clear signifiers of the period coexisting with a haunted, atmospheric modernity.”

Watch the official trailer for Revelations of Divine Love above.