TIFF | Books on Film 2014

It’s that time of the year again, book lovers and film buffs! While best known for its ten day festival in the fall where some of the best films from around the world hit Toronto, TIFF has also made its mark with amazing year round programming. For book lovers, TIFF presents the Books on Film subscription series — held on Monday evenings and hosted by Eleanor Wachtel of CBC’s Writers & Company, the series examines great cinema that began as outstanding literature. The series offers a rare opportunity to see the authors or the film makers who adapted their works being interviewed about their work.

Now in its fourth season, Books on Film 2014 launches on Monday, March 3, with author Mohsin Hamid on the film adaptation of his book The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which was hailed by The Guardian as one of the books that defined the decade. Other highlights include Yann Martel on Life of Pi (April 14), Andrew Dubus III on House of Sand and Fog (June 2).

Check out this year’s Books on Film lineup:

Mohsin Hamid on The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Monday, March 3, 7 pm

Author Mohsin Hamid discusses Mira Nair’s adaptation of his novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which was hailed by The Guardian as one of the books that defined the decade and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

About the film:
Kiefer Sutherland, Liev Schreiber and Kate Hudson co-star in this adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s international best-selling novel, about a young Pakistani man (Riz Ahmed) whose pursuit of corporate success on Wall Street leads him on a strange path back to the world he had left behind.

Agnieszka Holland on Washington Square
Monday, March 31, 7 pm

Internationally celebrated filmmaker Agnieszka Holland discusses her 1997 adaptation of Henry James’ classic novel about the conflict between a sheltered young woman and her domineering father in the high society of 1850s New York.

About the film:
Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as Henry James’ gentle, sheltered heroine Catherine Sloper, who clashes with her domineering father (Albert Finney) when he accuses her suitor (Ben Chaplin) of being a fortune hunter.

Yann Martel on Life of Pi
Monday, April 14, 7 pm

Canadian author Yann Martel discusses his Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi and its transformation into Ang Lee’s Academy Award-winning film.

About the film:
A young man survives a shipwreck only to find himself sharing a lifeboat with a ferocious Bengal tiger.

Yiyun Li on A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Monday, May 12, 7 pm

Yiyun Li chronicles her collaboration with director Wayne Wang on the film adaptation of her short story “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.”

About the film:
A retired widower travels from Beijing to the United States to visit his estranged daughter, in Wayne Wang’s quietly touching adaptation of the short story by Yiyun Li.

Andre Dubus III on House of Sand and Fog
Monday, June 2, 7 pm

Award-winning author Andre Dubus III considers the Academy Award-nominated adaptation of his novel House of Sand and Fog.

About the film:
A former drug addict (Jennifer Connelly) is evicted from her home and begins a disastrous dispute with the property’s new owner, a former Iranian army officer (Ben Kingsley).

Paul Fierlinger on My Dog Tulip
Monday, June 23, 7 pm

Paul Fierlinger describes the painstaking process by which he and his wife Sandra Fierlinger transformed J.R. Ackerley’s bittersweet memoir into the first animated feature to be entirely hand-drawn and painted with paperless technology.

About the film:
Christopher Plummer provides the voice of author J.R. Ackerley in this moving animated feature based on Ackerley’s memoir about his 14-year relationship with his faithful German Shepherd.

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Series subscriptions to Books on Film include all six events and are on sale at tiff.net/books. Subscriptions are $180 for adults ($153 for members) and $144 for students/seniors ($122.40 for members). Single tickets are $35 for adults ($28 for members), $29 for students/seniors ($24 for members) and $31.50 for groups.

Full schedule with links to purchase tickets is also on the TIFF Books on Film page.

For foodies, check out as well TIFF’s Food on Film subscription series!

1 thought on “TIFF | Books on Film 2014

  1. Pingback: TIFF Books On Film | The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid | Literary Treats

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