How to Make an American Quilt is a 1995 American drama film based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Whitney Otto. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, the film features Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Nelligan and Alfre Woodard. It also marked Jared Leto's film debut. Amblin Entertainment optioned Otto's novel in 1991, and were able to persuade Steven Spielberg to finance the screenplay's development. How to Make an American Quilt garnered mixed reviews from critics. It was a box-office success, grossing $41 million against a $10 million budget. The film received a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Characters Finn Dodd Main character. Following her boyfriend Sam's proposal, Finn visits her great aunt and grandmother to finish her thesis and think over it. At her grandmother's, a quilting group congregates, and she's shocked and surprised to discover that the current quilt that they're working on is a wedding gift for her when she gets married. The theme of the quilt is "where love resides". As Finn is unsure whether she's ready for marriage or if he's "the one", the women's stories in the quilting group open her eyes to the different kinds of love that exist. During her time at her grandmother's, she meets Leon at the local pool and they have a brief affair. Eventually, wrapped in her quilt and following a crow (reminiscent of Anna's tale about her aunt), she comes across Sam and chooses to stay with him. Sophia Darling In her early 20s, Sophia was a talented diver with dreams of escaping her small town and overbearing mother. One day she meets Preston Richards while diving at the local pool and romance ensues. He's attracted by her fearlessness and she believes he can take her away from her current, oppressive way of life. However, motherhood turns out to be just as, if not more, oppressive and married life soon grinds her down. With three children and little help from Preston who is frequently away because of his job, she no longer has time to dive and eventually forgets the feeling of freedom and escape it gives her. One day she snaps at Preston for digging a pond in the back garden. Trying to remind her of the girl he fell in love with, he tells her the pond is for her