When did Eleanor the Great release? Scarlett Johansson opens up about the "surreal" feeling of watching her directorial debut "with an audience"

Scarlett Johansson is now reeling from the success of her first directorial venture, Eleanor the Great, which was released in the US earlier this year on September 26. She recently opened up about her experiences with directing. According to Variety, the movie is now set to be screened at the International Film Festival Women and the World in London on Wednesday, November 12. It will feature a panel consisting of English actress Erin Kellyman and producer Victoria Emslie.

Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, follows Eleanor Morgenstein, played by June Squibb, who returns to live in New York with her daughter, played by Jessica Hecht. The film explores the unassuming friendship between the ninety-four-year-old Eleanor and a young journalism student, played by Kellyman.

More about Scarlet Johansson's debut directorial venture, Eleanor the Great, as she opens about working on the project

Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival in May. This year, the highly prestigious section at Cannes featured around twenty selected films from directors around the world.

In an interview with YNetNews, the Oscar-nominated actress recalled the “surreal” moment she experienced watching the movie for the first time. It was during a packed screening at the Cannes Film Festival. She said:

"Before the premiere, I hadn’t watched ‘Eleanor the Great’ with an audience that wasn’t connected to me in some way. To be in that room with everyone, to see their faces and experience it together, was surreal. But in a good way. It felt like a massive release.”

She further added:

"The script of ‘Eleanor the Great’ itself made me cry. So I knew there was potential for tears in the final film too. During many moments on set, I saw cast members crying. I have seen the movie thousands of times, and it still makes me cry. It moves me differently every time.”

The film, which deals with Jewish identity, was, in fact, inspired by Scarlett Johansson’s own family history. In an interview during the screening of her film at the Toronto Film Festival, the Jojo Rabbit actress explained why it was important for her to make this movie. She said it was an effort to connect to her Jewish identity, something she was not aware of until very recently. She said:

"A lot of my family history was lost and it wasn’t until many years later that I was actually able to connect with my family heritage. I think because of that, this story really resonated with me. These survivors’ stories are lost, there are organizations like Shoah that are committed to documenting them for future generations and their work is so important. I hope that this film really encourages people to ask questions of their relatives and to keep their stories alive.”

In her interview with YNetNews, Scarlett Johansson shared that she was inspired by independent filmmaking from the 1980s to the early 2000s. She also mentioned that the opportunity to direct this movie came at the best time in her life. She explained that it was “when I could read a script like this and know I could truly bring it to life.” Scarlett Johansson is now set to lend her voice to the animated movie Ray Gun, which is scheduled to release on Netflix in 2026.

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