Inside Kate Winslet's emotional journey making 'Goodbye June'

At a relaxed afternoon tea in London, Kate Winslet and Andrea Riseborough fielded questions about Goodbye June, Winslet’s directorial debut and a family-driven Christmas drama written by her 21-year-old son, Joe Anders.

The film, which stars Helen Mirren as a mother facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, brings her four children — played by Winslet, Riseborough, Toni Collette and Johnny Flynn — together as old tension and fresh grief surface.

The movie arrives in theaters December 12 and on Netflix December 24.

Winslet spoke about assembling the cast and why she chose to direct the project instead of handing it off. “They are great people,” she said of the actors. 

“I had to cast people who not only were going to be the only people who could play those parts, but who were going to be lovely… word gets around if someone’s tricky.”

She explained that the original plan was to find another director, but she wasn’t ready to give up the story. Watching Anders experience the process was a major part of the journey. “He really found it fascinating,” she said.

Production moved fast. “We shot it in 35 days, and I had Helen Mirren for 16 days,” Winslet explained. With a large ensemble and multiple locations, she said Anders often looked at her in disbelief: “What’s happening? How have we done all this?” Her response: “I don’t know! Let’s keep going!”

Winslet also used her real-life parenting instincts to guide the film’s young performers. “The trick with children is you just mother them,” she said. 

She encouraged them to stay loose: “Don’t learn any lines and make lots of mistakes. OK?”

Reflecting on her son’s work, she added, “He has brilliant ideas… He’s very humble and very shy. I just wanted him to learn.”