Glowing Reviews Pour In for Life, Above All

Life, Above All--the award-winning movie based on Chanda's Secrets--has been in theaters for less than ten days and already it's getting rave reviews. This is no surprise, of course, as the movie won the Prix François Chalais at Cannes, where it received a standing ovation. It currently holds an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%.

Here's some of the great press the film has received:

• New York Times
• TIME Magazine
• Globe & Mail
• National Post
• Montreal Gazette

For a limited time, you can also buy the ebook of Chanda's Secrets for just $7.95--a savings of over 25%! Don't miss out... visit Kobo today!

Life, Above All Is in Theaters!

Life, Above All--the award-winning film based on Chanda's Secrets--is in theaters now! See below for more details.

Here are some great interviews with people involved with the book and film:

• Allan Stratton, author of Chanda's Secrets
• Dennis Foon, who adapted Chanda's Secrets as a screenplay
• Khomotso Manyaka, who played Chanda in Life, Above All

"Pure human drama.
'Life Above All' is about deep human emotions,
evoked with sympathy and love."
- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN TIMES

"Alone among the films at Cannes,
'Life Above All' was one that had critics cheering like school kids in a
10-minute standing ovation, and weeping tears from their gimlet eyes.
It has the high art and big heart of any award-worthy film."
- Mary Corliss, TIME MAGAZINE

LIFE, ABOVE ALL is a emotional and universal drama about a young girl (stunningly performed by first-time-actress Khomotso Manyaka) who fights the fear and shame that have poisoned her community. The film captures the enduring strength of loyalty and a courage powered by the heart. Directed by South African filmmaker Oliver Schmitz (MAPANTSULA, PARIS JE T`AIME), it is based on the international award winning novel "CHANDA`S SECRETS" by Allan Stratton... (More)

Starts July 15 at Cumberland Cinema!

Click here for showtimes and to purchase tickets.

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Toronto events for March!

Winter finally appears to be giving way to spring, so click here to check out our Spring 2011 list!

We've also got a few neat events to tell you about. On Wednesday, March 2 at 8 pm, the TIFF Bell Lightbox will be screening Life, Above All as part of their Human Rights Watch festival. This film premiered at Cannes last year, where it won a prestigious award and was highly praised by Roger Ebert--so if you're in Toronto, definitely go see it!

A week and a half later, on March 13, Fiona Smyth will be launching her dystopian graphic novel The Never Weres with This Is Not A Reading Series. RM Vaughan, art critic for the Globe and Mail, will be leading a discussion about her vivid career, and audience members of all ages are invited to grab Sharpies and doodle a panel for the event’s collective drawings/comics jam. Should be a fun time!

Details:Sunday, March 13
The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom
1214 Queen Street West
Doors open at 2 pm; event starts at 2:30 pm
Admission is $5 or free with book purchase

Click here to read a sample from The Never Weres. Hope to see you at the launch!

Interview with Allan Stratton, Dennis Foon, and Oliver Schmitz at TIFF

On Tuesday, some of the Annick staff headed downtown to watch Life, Above All, the movie based on the novel Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton. Everyone agreed it was a moving, faithful reproduction of the book; it captured the powerful emotions of the story, from vulnerability, fear, and shame to love and loyalty.

Annick's Director, Rick Wilks, had this to say: "For a publisher, having a novel adapted for a feature film is like being struck by lightning. Even better, watching a beautiful, intelligent and deeply moving film based on a beloved book is one of those absolutely glorious experiences. This is a film with integrity: from the writing through to the remarkable actors, it telegraphs authenticity. One can’t help but have a deeply moving experience."

If you missed the film, don't worry: it will be out in theatres sometime next year. Until then, check out this post-movie Q&A at TIFF with Oliver Schmitz (the director), Allan Stratton (the author), and Dennis Foon (the screenwriter), courtesy of Ioncinema.com.


TIFF 2010: Life, Above All from IONCINEMA.com on Vimeo.

Life, Above All at TIFF

Author Allan Stratton is having a very exciting (and busy!) year. The movie Life, Above All, which is based on his novel Chanda's Secrets, made its debut at the Cannes International Film Festival and has been receiving accolades ever since. The film also secured North American distribution with Sony Pictures Classics, and will be screened at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

In other news, the Toronto Public Library has announced that Allan will be their writer-in-residence this fall! If you're in Toronto, you can come and meet him at an event on October 2nd. Or read a short interview with him at TeenRC. (Here's a full chat transcript!) Young adult writers (both writers who are young adults, or who write about young adults) can also submit short excerpts of their work for a chance to meet with Allan for a manuscript evaluation and discussion. The deadline is October 16th: click here for full details.

And now for some Annick Press trivia: Chanda's Secrets is one of the first books we converted to ebook format. It's available from the Kobo and Chapters Indigo online bookstores, and will soon be available in more places... so stay tuned!