Kate Winslet's son candidly shares how tragic family loss inspired Netflix's Goodbye June: 'Wanted to feel uplifting!'

Despite tackling themes of illness and grief, Mr Anders has said his intention was never to create a bleak story, but one that ultimately feels “uplifting”.

Speaking to Screen Daily, Mr Anders explained that the emotional foundation of the film came from the illness and death of his grandmother, Ms Winslet’s mother, when he was a teenager.

He recalled the period as one that left a lasting mark on him, particularly the feeling of being together as a family in the hospital room.

“I remember that feeling really hitting me,” he said, explaining that while he was too young at the time to fully articulate those emotions, the sense that nothing else mattered except being there stayed with him.

That experience became the emotional backdrop for Goodbye June, which follows an extended family grappling with unresolved tensions, love and loss as Christmas approaches.

The ensemble cast includes Ms Winslet alongside Toni Collette, Andrea Riseborough and Johnny Flynn as estranged siblings, with Helen Mirren playing the indomitable matriarch June and Timothy Spall portraying her emotionally reserved husband.

Mr Anders, who turns 22 this month, wrote the screenplay while enrolled on a screenwriting course, having stepped back from acting.

He told Screen Daily that he never expected the script to be made, let alone directed by his mother.

“I was just wanting to share it with you,” he said of first showing the script to Ms Winslet. “The fact that it actually has been made is insane to me.”

His mother, however, said she immediately connected with the script’s emotional honesty and maturity.

She described being struck by how real and relatable the characters felt, as well as Mr Anders’ ability to weave humour into a subject that is rarely treated lightly.

“It’s not a cancer film,” she said. “It’s a film about something that’s happening to an entire family.”

Although Ms Winslet initially planned only to produce the film and act in it, she later realised she could not hand the project over to another director.

She told the online publication that after a year of developing the script with her son, she suddenly understood that she “couldn’t let it go”.

Her decision to direct came after decades of being encouraged by colleagues, and following her close collaboration as a producer on Lee.

Ms Winslet expanded further on her approach to directing in a separate interview with In Session Film, where she said she was determined to create an environment in which actors felt supported and free.

“Making an environment open and supportive enough that the actors feel that they are the most important thing on that set is everything,” she said, explaining that she often stepped back to let performances unfold naturally.

She added that she was deliberately cautious about camera placement, allowing emotional distance between characters to be felt visually before moving closer at key moments.

Directing scenes involving illness proved particularly challenging for Ms Winslet, who admitted to In Session Film it was impossible to completely separate the story from her own memories.

While the film is fictional, she said watching Mirren and Spall portray private moments between parents felt like seeing parts of her own life she had never witnessed.

“There were moments where I just quietly cried,” she admitted, adding the emotional weight was shared by the entire cast and crew.

Despite the personal grief at its core, both Ms Winslet and Mr Anders have emphasised that Goodbye June is about dignity, connection and love.

Ms Winslet told In Session Film that preserving June’s dignity mattered enormously to her, while Anders has said he hopes audiences leave feeling warmth rather than despair.

Born out of loss, Goodbye June ultimately aims to reflect the messy, painful and unexpectedly humorous reality of family life, and the hope that can still exist, even at the hardest moments.

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter