In the beginning was the word. Movies came later: taking stories, and liberties, to translate literary prestige into popular screen entertainment. In this new installment of Film Studies, filmmaker and lecturer Patricia Gruben looks at five acclaimed literary texts and the very different challenges they posed to filmmakers.
Each screening will feature a 15-minute introduction and a talkback.
Tickets
| Adult | $18 | VIFF+ | $15 |
| Senior | $16 | VIFF+ Premium | $13 |
| Student | $16 | VIFF+ Patron | Free |
| 5-Ticket Pack | $70 |
Patricia Gruben is a filmmaker and former associate professor of film at Simon Fraser University, as well as founder and long-time director of Praxis Centre for Screenwriters (now the Screenwriters Lab at the Whistler Film Festival.) Her films have been screened at TIFF, VIFF, Sundance and the New York Film Festival, and her writing on film has appeared in international academic and popular journals. Her latest film is Heart of Gold.
The English Patient
In the first of a new Film Studies series exploring literary adaptations, director Anthony Minghella tackles Michael Ondatje's challenging, poetic WWII novel about an enigmatic, badly burnt patient with a tragic past. Introduced by Patricia Gruben.
Nomadland
Hamnet director Chloe Zhao picked up one of three Academy Awards (along with Best Picture and Best Actress) in 2021 for this unconventional, compassionate adaptation of Jessica Bruder's nonfiction book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.
The American Friend
Wim Wenders' take on Patricia Highsmith's Ripley's Game is the real deal, an authentic mittel-European neo-noir, with Dennis Hopper as the original American psycho, Tom Ripley. This Film Studies screening is introduced by Patricia Gruben.
Nickel Boys
To tell the story of two friends serving time at a brutal racist Florida reform school, director RaMell Ross puts us inside their heads. It's a radical masterstroke in a powerful film, nominated for Best Picture.
Adaptation
In the final instalment of this year's Film Studies on Adaptation, we look at the 2006 film Adaptation — by Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (played by Nicolas Cage in the movie.) Introduced by Patricia Gruben.