Ami Canaan Mann To Direct Biopic ‘Audrey’s Children’ On Healthcare Hero Dr. Audrey Evans
Evans, 97, began revolutionizing cancer care for children in the 1970s. Her work as the co-founder of Ronald McDonald House Charities has dovetailed with her pioneering role as the first woman of oncology—and perhaps the nation’s most significant female physician. “I was a woman in the world of men. I had to be wise, tactful and thoughtful,” says Evans, who retired at 84, five years after marrying her colleague Dr. Giulio John D’Angio.
Born in England, Evans came to Philadelphia in 1970, and the rest is history—a history Julia Fisher Farbman is celebrating in her first scripted biographical feature film, Audrey’s Children, due sometime next year. “She’s like another grandmother to me, but she’s also my hero and an absolute icon,” says the Shipley School alum. “While writing, I enjoyed being in her head.”
In 1970, 90 percent of children with neuroblastoma, the most common tumor in pediatric cancer, were dying. Treatments were ineffective, and those that worked often caused irreparable damage. Enter Evans. Brilliant, British and ballsy, she tackled flawed, static treatments to overhaul blanket treatment methods, uncovering a groundbreaking way to save children’s lives. Well ahead of its time, the Evans Staging System was the genesis of what’s now a 75–80% survival rate for neuroblastoma patients.
“When I told Audrey I wanted to write a movie about her life, her first reaction was, ‘Why on earth would anyone want to watch my life—what a bore!’” recalls Farbman. “Then, it went to, ‘When are we going to the Oscars. What will I wear and who will chaperone me?’ She wants a handsome man to walk her in. She has a list at this point, so others need to get in line.”
Farbman will also co-produce the movie, with Ami Canaan Mann directing. Filming is slated to start around Philadelphia in August, and casting is in the works now. “Think top female British actors in their 40s, and you can assume who we’re going to,” Farbman says.
