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Writers making movies in the Selection
Jean-Luc Godard once said: “Literature is often cinematic.” The poet and filmmaker, Jean Cocteau, would not have disagreed, his view being that “Cinema is the form of modern writing whose ink is light.” And then we have François Truffaut: Was he a director or a writer? Literature and the 7th art co-exist on many levels — this Selection reflects that.
When writing gives birth to film
Two literary innovators step behind the camera
Marcel Pagnol, the storyteller from the south of France with a humanistic approach to filmmaking
Who better than Marcel Pagnol can illustrate the melding of both worlds? The author of the 1957 novels La Gloire de mon père (My Father’s Glory) and Le Château de ma mère (My Mother’s Castle), was also a full-fledged filmmaker. President of the Jury in 1948, he adapted many of his books for the screen and wrote the scripts for all of his films. Filmed in 1935, Merlusse, was his first original screenplay, which is being presented this year at Cannes Classics in a restored version.
Bo Widerberg, from writing manifestos to making films
In 1962, Bo Widerberg published a book to express his criticism of what he viewed as the disastrous state of Swedish cinema. In reply, a producer sent him a telegram: “Here’s 250,000 kronor. Please film some reality.” Thus began the career of one of the most influential filmmakers to come out of Sweden. At Cannes Classics, the documentary I Huvudet På Bo (Being Bo Widerberg) traces the journey of an artist from the writer’s desk to the director’s chair.
Writer-Directors: putting the page on screen
When authors go behind the camera
Among these talents, we have Leïla Slimani, winner of the 2016 Goncourt Prize for her novel Chanson douce (The Perfect Nanny) and member of this year’s Feature Films Jury. She is currently working on a screen adaptation of her trilogy Le Pays des autres (The Country of Others).
The History of Sound, a short story by American author Ben Shattuck, was adapted by the writer himself, then transformed into a film by director Oliver Hermanus, featuring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, which was presented In Competition.
Another is Japanese writer-director Genki Kawamura. Before making two feature films, one of which is the experimental Exit 8 that was presented at Midnight Screenings, he was already the successful author of many novels. Among them is his 2012 bestseller Sekai Kara Neko ga Kieta Nara (If Cats Disappeared from the World), which has been translated into several languages. Not surprisingly, he also writes screenplays.
When books become films
Stories with powerful and faithful adaptations
La Petite Dernière (The Last One), the first novel by French-Algerian author, Fatima Daas, published in 2020, about the challenge of coming out to a Muslim family was the screenplay for Hafsia Herzi’s film presented In Competition.
Connemara, the fourth novel written by the 2018 Goncourt Prize winner Nicolas Mathieu, has been brought to the screen by Alex Lutz. The film, which was screened at Cannes Première, paints a portrait of two forty-somethings in eastern France who find themselves swept away in a story of love and healing, all while dealing with their midlife crises.
Also presented at Cannes Première is the adaptation of Das Verschwinden des Josef Mengele (The Disappearance of Josef Mengele). Olivier Guez’s novel served as the source of inspiration for Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov, who takes us on a chilling dive plumbing the depths of the banality of evil.
In Competition is Scottish director Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love , adapted from Ariana Harwicz’s novel Matate, amor (Die, My Love). The film paints a portrait of the intense experience of a young woman plagued by her inner demons.
Kristen Stewart goes behind the camera to direct her first feature, The Chronology of Water. It is based on Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, La Mécanique des fluides, which is a gripping novel about resilience, pain, and the power of creation.
Lastly, Amélie et la Métaphysique des tubes (Little Amélie), directed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, portrays Amélie Nothomb’s cult classic, Métaphysique des tubes (The Character of Rain), on the big screen. It is a lively, unique and poetic story about the narrator’s early years, as she embarks on an existential journey with her senses newly awakened and a fresh awareness of self. The film gently enfolds the author’s boundless imagination, presenting an innovative approach to the portrayal of childhood on screen. Nothomb gave the directors free rein to run with the story wherever it took them.
