Saoirse Ronan (left) and Kate Winslet in Ammonite.

British director Francis Lee had a hit in 2017 with his first feature film, God’s Own Country, a gay romance on the rugged Yorkshire moors.

It was popular with the critics, cinemagoers at large, and, of course, the gay community. At 48, it was the first film he directed and he also wrote the script. He’d been an actor and had some good roles but many of his credits were “solider at gate” and “shop assistant”.

He’s just made has second film, another gay romance, Ammonite, set in another forbidding location – the south English coast. The film stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. Winslet plays Mary Anning, a single woman living with her ailing mother. She’s a palaeontologist who digs up prehistoric shellfish, known as ammonites, which she sells for a living. She takes in a lodger, Charlotte Murchison (Ronan), dumped by her husband, who goes off to Europe. Slowly, the two women fall in love.

Francis Lee spoke to Ian Horner for DNA about both films.

DNA: Ammonite and God’s Own Country have many parallels. Both couples live in worlds where the climate and the terrain are as harsh as the society and the people. In both cases, the intruder brings lessons in tenderness and affection. To what degree is this theme autobiographical for you?

Francis Lee: I’ve only directed two films, only written two, and they’re both incredibly personal. I’m not sure if either is autobiographical but the themes are incredibly personal and resonate with my life. 

How does your own coming out inform these two stories?