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Still from 'Orlando', based on Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel 'Orlando: A Biography'. Photo: Courtesy of TIFF
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Great Adaptations: 10 TIFF Films Inspired by Literature
The Toronto International Film Festival showcases book-to-movie features based on 'All the Light We Cannot See,' 'Gonzo Girl,' and 'Orlando' / BY Kim Hughes / September 8th, 2023
While the red carpets at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival are destined to be dimmer as Hollywood actors refuse to promote studio films during their strike, the wattage on screens is sure to sparkle.
The absence of visiting movie stars should focus attention on the hundreds of features, documentaries and shorts debuting between Sept. 7 and 17.
As usual, books are key to the festival’s content, providing the source material for everything from riveting biographies to weighty dramas, and piquing the curiosity of readers who hope beloved tomes will be well-served by conscientious directors. This year’s crop of adaptations looks promising, with several boasting Canadian connections.
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1Gonzo GirlThis coming-of-age American drama checks a lot of interesting boxes, chiefly, that it’s based on Cheryl Della Pietra’s semi-autobiographical novel chronicling her time as personal assistant to gonzo journalist and well-documented nutter, Hunter S. Thompson, here conjured by the reliably excellent Willem Dafoe, 68. What’s more, Gonzo Girl marks the directorial debut of acclaimed actor Patricia Arquette, 55, who presumably knows a thing or two about working alongside difficult men in an industry that traditionally overlooked bad behaviour.
This coming-of-age American drama checks a lot of interesting boxes, chiefly, that it’s based on Cheryl Della Pietra’s semi-autobiographical novel chronicling her time as personal assistant to gonzo journalist and well-documented nutter, Hunter S. Thompson, here conjured by the reliably excellent Willem Dafoe, 68. What’s more, Gonzo Girl marks the directorial debut of acclaimed actor Patricia Arquette, 55, who presumably knows a thing or two about working alongside difficult men in an industry that traditionally overlooked bad behaviour.
2All the Light We Cannot SeeMark Ruffalo, 55, and Hugh Laurie, 64, star in this limited series that will head to to Netflix in November (playing in TIFF’s Prime program). Based on Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2014 novel, the story follows two teenagers, one a blind French girl, the other, a German soldier, both determined to defy the Nazis. Canadian Shawn Levy, 55 (Stranger Things, Night at the Museum), directs and the trailer – set to Claude Debussy’s goosebump-raising masterwork, “Clair de lune” – looks dazzling.
Mark Ruffalo, 55, and Hugh Laurie, 64, star in this limited series that will head to to Netflix in November (playing in TIFF’s Prime program). Based on Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2014 novel, the story follows two teenagers, one a blind French girl, the other, a German soldier, both determined to defy the Nazis. Canadian Shawn Levy, 55 (Stranger Things, Night at the Museum), directs and the trailer – set to Claude Debussy’s goosebump-raising masterwork, “Clair de lune” – looks dazzling.
3Ru Thúy’s 2009 Governor General’s Award-winning debut novel sumptuously chronicles a wealthy family fleeing Vietnam and landing in Quebec via a Malaysian refugee camp. Canadian Charles-Olivier Michaud directs this era-spanning drama, presented in French and Vietnamese.
Thúy’s 2009 Governor General’s Award-winning debut novel sumptuously chronicles a wealthy family fleeing Vietnam and landing in Quebec via a Malaysian refugee camp. Canadian Charles-Olivier Michaud directs this era-spanning drama, presented in French and Vietnamese.
4ErasureCord Jefferson directs the redoubtable Jeffrey Wright, 57, in American Fiction, an adaptation of Percival Everett’s 2001 satire, Erasure, about an author facing publishing indifference until he angrily crafts a story based on unsettling stereotypes. It becomes a surprise smash, putting the author and his credibility in the crosshairs.
Cord Jefferson directs the redoubtable Jeffrey Wright, 57, in American Fiction, an adaptation of Percival Everett’s 2001 satire, Erasure, about an author facing publishing indifference until he angrily crafts a story based on unsettling stereotypes. It becomes a surprise smash, putting the author and his credibility in the crosshairs.
5OrlandoMaking its Canadian premiere in the always daring and provocative Wavelengths programme, Orlando: My Political Biography finds theorist, critic and curator Paul B. Preciado “taking Virginia Woolf’s classic novel as a starting point for a bold, joyous reflection on the nature of contemporary trans life and a celebration of queerness,” according to the TIFF summary.
Making its Canadian premiere in the always daring and provocative Wavelengths programme, Orlando: My Political Biography finds theorist, critic and curator Paul B. Preciado “taking Virginia Woolf’s classic novel as a starting point for a bold, joyous reflection on the nature of contemporary trans life and a celebration of queerness,” according to the TIFF summary.
6The Widow ClicquotIf you’ve ever popped a bottle of Veuve Clicquot French champagne, you’ve found yourself staring at the amused mug of a fancily bedecked, elderly lady at the top of the wire cage (called a muselet) holding the cork firm. That would be Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, known far and wide as Veuve Clicquot, the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” whose bold experiments with bottling techniques not only gave us the fabulous sparkling wine we still covet today, but saved her from destitution when her wine-making husband died suddenly, leaving Ponsardin indebted and a single mother at 27. The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It, author Tilar J. Mazzeo’s bestseller from 2009, provides the foundation for Widow Clicquot, a true-life tale of a spitfire winemaker struggling beneath the weight of the misogynistic Napoleonic Code. Haley Bennett stars.
If you’ve ever popped a bottle of Veuve Clicquot French champagne, you’ve found yourself staring at the amused mug of a fancily bedecked, elderly lady at the top of the wire cage (called a muselet) holding the cork firm. That would be Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, known far and wide as Veuve Clicquot, the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” whose bold experiments with bottling techniques not only gave us the fabulous sparkling wine we still covet today, but saved her from destitution when her wine-making husband died suddenly, leaving Ponsardin indebted and a single mother at 27. The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It, author Tilar J. Mazzeo’s bestseller from 2009, provides the foundation for Widow Clicquot, a true-life tale of a spitfire winemaker struggling beneath the weight of the misogynistic Napoleonic Code. Haley Bennett stars.
7I Do Not Come to You By ChanceOne of the best things about a film festival is the opportunity to witness storytelling from countries that might not otherwise be available. Such is the case with I Do Not Come to You By Chance, director Ishaya Bako’s adaptation of Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s award-winning 2009 debut novel, about a young Nigerian who can’t seem to make headway playing by the rules, and so reluctantly joins his uncle’s fraudulent email racket. Both the source material and the director’s track record (see 2017’s The Royal Hibiscus Hotel) suggest this should be a winner.
One of the best things about a film festival is the opportunity to witness storytelling from countries that might not otherwise be available. Such is the case with I Do Not Come to You By Chance, director Ishaya Bako’s adaptation of Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s award-winning 2009 debut novel, about a young Nigerian who can’t seem to make headway playing by the rules, and so reluctantly joins his uncle’s fraudulent email racket. Both the source material and the director’s track record (see 2017’s The Royal Hibiscus Hotel) suggest this should be a winner.
8The Hard SellAn all-star cast, including Emily Blunt, Chris Evans, Andy Garcia, 67, and Canada’s own Catherine O’Hara, 69, star in director David Yates’ drama, Pain Hustlers, about pharmaceutical drug reps who inadvertently trigger the opioid epidemic as they chase financial success in the early 2000s. The film, making its world premiere at TIFF, is based on investigative journalist Evan Hughes’ 2002 non-fiction hardcover, The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup.
An all-star cast, including Emily Blunt, Chris Evans, Andy Garcia, 67, and Canada’s own Catherine O’Hara, 69, star in director David Yates’ drama, Pain Hustlers, about pharmaceutical drug reps who inadvertently trigger the opioid epidemic as they chase financial success in the early 2000s. The film, making its world premiere at TIFF, is based on investigative journalist Evan Hughes’ 2002 non-fiction hardcover, The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup.
9Stamped from the BeginningInspired by the 2017 book the American author, professor and historian – a National Book Award winner subtitled “The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America” – 60-year-old Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams’ documentary “explores the history of anti-Black ideas in a way that helps us grapple with present-day racism,” says the TIFF website.
Inspired by the 2017 book the American author, professor and historian – a National Book Award winner subtitled “The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America” – 60-year-old Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams’ documentary “explores the history of anti-Black ideas in a way that helps us grapple with present-day racism,” says the TIFF website.
10WaldFor Woodland, her emotionally intense film about a woman retreating to her rural childhood home to heal from trauma, writer-director Elisabeth Scharang relied on two sources: her own experience witnessing a 2020 terrorist attack in Vienna, which killed four and injured 23, and Wald, the 2015 novel by bestselling author Doris Knecht. Acclaimed cinematographer Jörg Widmer captures it all with brilliant, eerie panache.
For Woodland, her emotionally intense film about a woman retreating to her rural childhood home to heal from trauma, writer-director Elisabeth Scharang relied on two sources: her own experience witnessing a 2020 terrorist attack in Vienna, which killed four and injured 23, and Wald, the 2015 novel by bestselling author Doris Knecht. Acclaimed cinematographer Jörg Widmer captures it all with brilliant, eerie panache.