Project Detail

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan

Synopsis

A young man's calculated reassessment of his infamous, and ultimately disastrous, childhood correspondence with an American television star. A decade after the death of the TV star, the young man, now an actor himself reminisces the written correspondence he shared with the star, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.
Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2018 - Special Presentations - World premiere

Details

Year
2018
Type of project
Features
Running time
127 mins
Director
Xavier Dolan
Producer
Lyse Lafontaine, Nancy Grant, Xavier Dolan, Michael Merkt
Co-Producer
Peter Carlton, Barry Ryan
Executive Producer
Joe Iacono, Patrick Roy, Anick Poirier, Nathanaël Karmitz, Elisha Karmitz
Editor
Mathieu Denis, Xavier Dolan
Screenwriter
Xavier Dolan, Jacob Tierney
Director of Photography
André Turpin
Production Designer
Colombe Raby, Anne Pritchard
Sound
Sylvain Brassard
Composer
Gabriel Yared
Principal cast
Jacob Tremblay, Kit Harington, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Chastain, Nathalie Portman, Thandie Newton, Sarah Gadon

Genre

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Canada, UK coproduction

Lyla Films (CA), Sons of Manual (CA), Warp Films (UK)

Warp Films

33 Riding House Street
London
W1W 7DZ

Sales Company

Seville International

455, St-Antoine West, Suite 300
H2Z 1J1 Montreal
Quebec
Canada

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

 About an Intimate Matter About an Intimate Matter

Director: Sandeep Kumar Paul

Year: 2026

Science teacher Swarna and her partner Driti move to a suburban town for a fresh start. When a student leaks intimate photos of Swarna online, school authorities turn her private life into a disciplinary issue. Official Selection Busan International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

Denzel Baidoo as Marcus, forlorn at the dinner table. Clocks

Director: Yv Shells

Year: 2026

When Arlo arrives to find Marcus has cooked someone else’s favourite meal, a single question begins to unravel an evening that refuses to stay in the present. Through a fractured timeline set entirely within one dining room, we move between Marcus and Arlo and the relationship that came before, with Una, the woman he met at a late-night bus stop and once talked about marrying. The same table, the same chairs, the same arguments about trust, honesty and what it means to truly see someone. As the timelines bleed together, it becomes clear that Marcus has never fully left the past, and that Una’s ghost sits at every table he sets. When Arlo asks what her own favourite meal is and he cannot answer, the film’s quiet devastation lands completely. CLOCKS is a portrait of a man who loves generously but sees poorly, and the women who carry the cost. It asks what we owe the person in front of us while we are still in love with someone we lost, and whether a feeling ever truly ends.

Skintown Skintown

Director: Kieron J. Walsh

Year: 2026

1994. As Northern Ireland takes its first steps towards peace, best friends Vinny and Jonty are about to jump start their futures with the most reckless trip of their lives. Official Selection Busan International Film Festival 2026