Legendary CHOP cancer researcher Audrey Evans’ life is the subject of a new film

Philly-based writer and producer Julia Fisher Farbman has interviewed notable figures like former First Lady Michelle Obama, NASA systems engineer Farah Alibay, and former softball star Mo’ne Davis. But her most popular interviewee was Audrey Evans, the British physician and subsequent Philadelphian who became a force in pediatric cancer research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and founded Ronald McDonald House Charities.

In 2017, Farbman’s award-winning Prime Video series Modern Hero featured the then-92-year-old oncologist, and the episode amassed upwards of 17 million views.

Evans talked about her childhood in York, England, her battles with sexism in the medical field, her journey to becoming CHOP’s first female chief of oncology, and her continued push to improve pediatric cancer treatment. “I came to Philadelphia to take care of children with cancer because at the time I came, there wasn’t much else you could do but care,” Evans said to Farbman on the show.

What began as a series of interviews at Evans’ Rittenhouse apartment blossomed into a friendship between the two women. Now, that one-off episode has evolved into Audrey’s Children, a feature film starring Natalie Dormer as the iconic oncologist.

“It was special to hear her life story and distill it into a screenplay, and it just all came to life,” Farbman said. “We know, or at least we hope, this film matters to a lot of people and a lot of families. And we really hope it continues [Evans’] legacy of caring for people and inspiring others to do the same.”

The 110-minute-long film, directed by Ami Canaan Mann and written and produced by Farbman, is set to premiere at the Philadelphia Film Festival on Sunday. It chronicles Evans’ pathway to becoming a marvel of medical advancement and philanthropy during the late 1960s and 1970s.

Mann, who directed the 2014 romance-drama Jackie & Ryan, said Evans’ legacy of advocacy and her sure-fire desire to make people’s lives better, is what drew her to the project. And it’s a story, she felt, was a necessary one for film-goers, especially with the “chaos” surrounding today’s social and political climate.

“I don’t underestimate the power and responsibility that storytellers have, and I felt like if we could tell this woman’s story in a way that could touch even a handful of people who have been through the same experience, or a parallel experience,” she said. “It just felt like doing that would be important.”

During a time when cancer research was limited and families were forced to withdraw their terminally ill children from CHOP due to high healthcare costs, Evans founded CHOP’s Children’s Cancer Center and opened the first Ronald McDonald House on Oct. 15, 1974. After retiring from CHOP in 2009, Evans went on to cofound Philadelphia’s St. James School, a tuition-free and private Episcopal middle school.

The film also chronicles Evans’ groundbreaking research and medical findings. In 1971, she developed what is now known as the Evans Staging System, which determines the best cancer treatment plans for kids battling neuroblastoma — one of the most common solid cancerous tumors in children. Her work in reducing mortality rates for this cancer type earned her the title, the “Mother of Neuroblastoma.”

Dormer, who met Evans before Evans’ death in 2022 at age 97, has brought the late oncologist “back to life” on screen, Farbman said, perfectly capturing Evans’ dry British humor and fiery spirit. “[Dormer] was perfection,” she said. “It was a dream come true for her to read the script and love the film. And when she came on set, she just took everything to another level with her professionalism, her talents, and dedication to the story.”

From the way she walked and fixed her shoulders upright, Mann said Dormer fully channeled Evans. The actor also captured the “graceful” way Evans described mortality to her young patients, telling them they “float” when they pass.

“That’s a task I wouldn’t wish on anybody,” Mann said. “And for her to have done that daily with such conviction to help children frame their own mortality, and do it with good cheer while trying to save their lives, I was really compelled by that story and that woman. I felt it was important to share that with as many people as possible.”

“The whole film was a labor of love for every single one of us. We always said that the right people would come to the film at the right time, and that’s been true,” Farbman said. “And I’m so grateful for the people who have joined the ‘Audrey Army’ to bring her story to life.”

“My goal is to have the audience walk away with a sense that they, too, can make a difference to somebody. No matter how small, it will have a ripple effect and it will have value,” Mann said.

Audrey’s Children screens on Oct. 20, 5:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. And Oct. 27 at 8:00 p.m. Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut St, Phila. For tickets, visit filmadelphia.org.