Books to Movies
Lakefield College School Bryan Jones Theatre
Friday July 19 @ 7:00 pm
Guests: Michael Crummey author of Sweetland, the novel, and Christian Sparkes, director of Sweetland, the movie based on Michael Crummey’s novel.
Moderator: James Cullingham
We’ve all seen movies that are based on novels, but what happens behind the scenes? What sort of creative choices must be made when converting a story from text to a visual medium?
View the official movie trailer
Michael Crummey
Author of five novels and seven books of poetry, winner of multiple national and international awards, Michael Crummey is this century’s leading figure in the rich tradition of Newfoundland literature. His novel The Adversary is currently a national bestseller. Michael returns to Lakefield to discuss the creation of Sweetland, a novel described by fellow novelist Robert Wiersema as “a tour de force performance” and “one hell of a book.”
Christian Sparkes
Christian Sparkes is an award-winning writer and director from Newfoundland who co-wrote with Michael Crummey and directed Sweetland, his fourth feature film. An alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre, he has directed numerous episodes of television, and his films have screened at the world’s top festivals including TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), Fantastic Fest and Busan.
James Cullingham
James Cullingham is an award winning documentary filmmaker, historian and journalist based in Nogojiwanong – Peterborough, whose documentaries concerning social justice, history and popular culture have been screened around the world. A former executive producer with CBC Radio, James has written for Canada’s leading publications and currently works as adjunct faculty member in Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies at Trent University.