Projects in genres: Literary Adaptation

Synopsis

John Bayley, adoring husband to the famous novelist Dame Iris Murdoch, holds on to what he can as the witty, brilliant Iris slips into the devastation of Alzheimer's. A poignant, poetic evocation of a modern literary legend confronted with true love.   Adapted from the writings of John Bayley.

Synopsis

Morvern Callar is a 21 year old supermarket worker from a small port town in the west of Scotland. Morvern believes that life is something you get on with as best you can with what you've got. One morning Morvern finds that what she's got is a dead boyfriend on the kitchen floor.

Synopsis

In 1890s England, Algy Moncrieff and his friend Jack Worthing are a spirited pair of London dandies who are keen to win the hands of the women they love. And their chosen brides, the pre-Raphaelite Cecily and the distinguished Gwendolen are their perfect women - except that they appear to have a pathological aversion to any name - other than Earnest. But of course, adopting this unusual name is the least of their troubles when the imposing Lady Bracknell arrives to guard her beloved daughter's reputation and investigate her suitors. Quizzing Jack over his social pedigree, Lady Bracknell is utterly dismayed to discover that he has only the spurious claim to being parented by a 'handbag'. She presents him with an ultimatum: unless he can prove his suitable origin within the week, the marriage will be off. Galloping between London and the country, this farcical comedy of mistaken identities, and undiscovered liaisons gathers speed as the rakish pair try desperately to conceal their duplicity and prevent the discovery of some astonishing truths. Oliver Parker's imaginative adaptation combines Wilde's inimitable wit with an engaging romantic tale and a sparkling comedy of social manners.

Synopsis

Harry Potter has learned to live with his bullying uncle Vernon, his callous aunt Petunia and the constant whining of his greedy, spoiled cousin Dudley. He's even learned to live with sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs. Harry's relatives have just as reluctantly learned to live with the unwelcome presence of their orphaned relation, a constant reminder of Petunia's 'wayward' sister and brother-in-law and their mysterious and untimely demise. Even the impending arrival of his 11th birthday offers no excitement for Harry - as usual, there's little chance of cards, presents or any kind of birthday treat. This year, however, is different. Based on the first of J.K. Rowling's popular children's novels about Harry Potter, telling the story of a boy who learns on his 11th birthday that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses unique magical powers of his own. Invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. At Hogwarts, he finds the home and the family he has never had.

Synopsis

The story centres on Bridget, a 30-something 'singleton', convinced that everyone is getting it right except for her. Her ambitions are few - she would like to lose weight and find true love - but seemingly unattainable. Her romantic life is in a state of perpetual crisis. While her friends Jude, Sharon and Tom provide her with hopeless advice, Bridget finds herself torn between two men, her charming, sexy, but dangerous boss Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy an old family friend, who seems at first to be aloof and dull, until his true self is revealed. Bridget's unsuccessful attempts to control her chaotic life and to develop inner poise are charted by her hilarious and sometimes poignant diary entries.

Synopsis

Based on the best-selling novel by Louis de Berniers. The idyllic beauty of Greece's Mediterranean coast has been invaded by Italy, bringing legions of soldiers to the once tranquil island of Cephallonia. Captain Corelli (Cage), an officer with an irrepressibly jovial personality and passion for his mandolin, initially alienates a number of villagers. In particular, he infuriates the village doctor, Iannis (Hurt) and his beautiful and educated, strong-willed daughter Pelagia (Cruz) whose home he shares during the occupation. Corelli's charm and decency, together with his desire to have a quiet and peaceful war, eventually wins over their friendship. When Pelagia's fiancee, local fisherman Mandras (Bale) heads off to battle, the relationship between Corelli and Pelagia grows stronger. As the war advances ever closer, Corelli and Pelagia are forced to choose between their allegiance to their countries and the love they feel for one another - a love which must overcome tremendous odds, and endure the inevitable sacrifice which accompanies eternal devotion.

Synopsis

Enigma is a love story set in the gripping and thrilling world of codebreaking and espionage. When a young man invents the first computer that deciphers secret German U-boat codes during World War II, he falls in love with the girl who tries to give his secret to the enemy.

Synopsis

Three men meet in the pub that's been their local for 40 years. Only today someone's missing - or is he? Vic slides a box on the bar and takes out the urn of Jack Dodd's ashes, 'for one last look-in'. But why? Jack doesn't know. Or does he? As the men make their way to the sea, stopping at pubs, at Canterbury Cathedral, at the places that hold special meaning to them, they wonder - and they remember. The war, the children, the affairs, the disappointments and the ordinary triumphs. Like an emotional mystery, Last Orders slowly reveals who Jack Dodds was, and by the journey's end, like his friends, we find ourselves missing him too.

Synopsis

Daniel Dillon sold his wife and child - and then tried to buy forgiveness. California 1849. The snowbound goldfields are littered with countless hopefuls rushing to make their fortune. Among them are the poor Irish immigrant Daniel Dillon, his wife Elena and baby daughter, Hope. Lost in a blizzard, exhausted and starving, they stumble upon a lonely hut with a sign above which reads 'Thy Kingdom Come'. Fuelled by drink and a lust for gold, Dillon sells his wife and child to the prospector who lives there, in exchange for a gold claim. Twenty years later Elena and Hope return to the pioneer settlement of Kingdom Come. Although rough and tough, the town is prosperous and Dillon is now a wealthy man of considerable authority, having as his mistress the local madam, Lucia. The Claim is an epic story against the backdrop of American history in the making. This is a world of sweeping snowbound landscapes, goldmines, rowdy saloon bars and the racket and bustle of a pioneer town. Hard times where jealousy and rejection take their toll and where one momentary lapse of weakness, twenty years earlier brings, a final and terrible retribution.   Based on Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'.

Synopsis

Local newspaper journalist, Cameron Colley, is setting the world to rights; his articles are idealistic, written from the viewpoint of the underdog. A twisted serial killer seems to have the same motives; his murders are committed on behalf of the underdog. The two stories begin to merge and Cameron finds himself inextricably and inexplicably implicated by the brutal killer. The arms dealer Cameron plans to expose is found literally 'disarmed' before he can put pen to paper. The brewery chief, loathed by Cameron, who sold up at the expense of his workers, finds himself permanently unemployable. And the malpractising doctor and corrupt newspaper proprietor meet with similarly sinister ends. The police are convinced of Cameron's guilt and so are half his friends and colleagues. Cameron is forced to employ all his investigative skills to find the real killer and his motive.   Based on Iain Banks novel "Complicity".

Synopsis

Although Atom Egoyan's first adaptation The Sweet Hereafter won the Cannes jury prize and scored two Academy Award nominations, the writer-director was initially uncertain about tackling another novel as the basis of his next film. But when Icon head of development Karen Glasser sent him William Trevor's Felicia's Journey he was won over. "I was struck by the brilliance of the writing, the characters' depth and how many of the themes resonated with me," says Egoyan. The story follows naive Irish teenager Felicia as she treks to Birmingham to find her lover Johnny, but instead encounters the sinister and faintly comic Mr Hilditch. Egoyan, who was born in Cairo and grew up in Canada, brought an outsider's viewpoint to the film's locations, small-town Ireland and the industrial sprawl of the English Midlands. "I felt a responsibility," he says, "that both locations be presented with honesty and accuracy." Egoyan also found working with British and Irish actors a fresh experience. He praised the calibre of the actors who include newcomer Elaine Cassidy as Felicia and Bob Hoskins as Hilditch. Felicia's Journey is firmly stamped with Egoyan's style and preoccupations. The film includes regular Egoyan collaborators such as DoP Paul Sarossy, editor Susan Shipson and composer Mychael Danna, while the director's muse Arsinee Khanjian plays Hilditch's extraordinary mother Gala. The film's structure jumps back and forward in time, incorporating video and film footage, in a way that will be familiar to Egoyan fans. Felicia's Journey was released in the UK in October last year to critical acclaim.

Synopsis

I Could Read the Sky a film about music, madness memory, love and loss, a haunting story of immigration. I Could Read the Sky is adapted from the photographic novel of the same name which has been recently published to rave reviews and explores the sense of identity, loss and exile. It is the moving story of an old man living in a bedsit in London, remembering his life, growing up on the West coast of Ireland and his journey to London. The film unravels the strange twisting drama of a working man's life. It moves from a decaying rural past to a vividly modern present, driven by a dynamic music soundtrack that draws from both, and a simple flowing lyrical story telling. It is the state of memory that the film evokes, not memory as re-enactment but as texture. The film gets to the essence of how we remember. Memory as fragments, as details and layers, memory that comes at you out of the dark. From behind closed eyes, with its abstractions of light and form and sudden moments of precise clarity, taking us on an inward, visually extraordinary labyrinthine journey to the film's end. The film stars the acclaimed Irish writer Dermot Healy and includes cameos from actors Maria Doyle Kennedy, Brendan Coyle and Stephen Rea, writer Pat McCabe (Butcher Boy) and the author Timothy O'Grady and photographer Steve Pyke.