MA novel becomes a feature film
MA in Creative Writing graduate Jonathan Trigell's first novel, Boy A (Serpent's Tail), has been developed as a feature film for Channel 4.
Having won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for best Commonwealth work by an author under 35, and the Waverton Good Read Award for best first novel of 2004, the book was chosen by new production company Cuba Films as the basis for its first film.
Boy A was described by the Independent as, "A fine and moving debut novel... A rare treat," and tells the story of a young man released after an adolescence in juvenile institutions. Although guilty of a monstrous childhood crime, he is utterly innocent of the world outside.
Given a new name and identity, he seems like a good guy to his new friends - despite his naivety, unreachability and flashes of unexplained violence. But, feeling himself on permanent trial, Jack struggles to start again from scratch.
The film reunites the screenwriter/director team of Mark O'Rowe and John Crowley, and stars newcomer Andrew Garfield in an acclaimed first film performance. Its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last month led one critic to describe it as the best film they'd seen all year, and it has been selected for several other festivals including London and Berlin.
The film has also been acquired by major Hollywood player the Weinstein Company for international cinema distribution, and will later be shown on Channel 4 television.
Jonathan's is the first novel written on the MA course to be adapted into a film. His second book, Cham, has just been published by Serpent's Tail (October 2007) and also looks set to be a major success.