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: Update

Life, Above All, the movie based on Allan Stratton's novel Chanda's Secrets, will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this Sunday and next Tuesday. A few people from Annick will be in attendance, so look for an update next week.

In an exciting development, South Africa has chosen Life, Above All as its official entry for best foreign-language picture at the Academy Awards. We'll have to wait until late January to see whether the Academy officials give it a nomination, though, so our fingers are crossed!

Khomotoso Manyaka in the role of Chanda