An drawing from the cover of Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss. The 2010 book is being adapted into a live-action feature film that will have its world premiere at TIFF 2019.
In 2000, artist and author Marjane Satrapi had a worldwide hit with her graphic novel Persepolis, which has since sold 2 million copies worldwide.
Now, Satrapi is using her acumen as an Oscar-nominated filmmaker to shine light on the work of another graphic novelist.
The film Radioactive, directed by Satrapi and based on a 2010 graphic novel by MacArthur “Genius” Grant–winner Lauren Redniss, will have its world premiere September 14 at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The new film, like Redniss’s original graphic novel, focuses on the life of scientist Marie Curie.
“Radioactive will be the third of my works to show here in Toronto,” Satrapi said in a release. “For me it is third time lucky. This film is a celebration of Marie Curie—an extraordinary woman—and its message could not be more timely.”
Radioactive is just one of the art-related films announced today as TIFF premieres.
Also having a world premiere is the filmic adaptation of the bestselling novel The Goldfinch, about a painting of the titular bird that is stolen after a terrorist attack on a New York art museum. It’s directed by John Crowley.
Having its Canadian premiere at TIFF is Portrait of a Lady on Fire. The film, which won the Cannes Queer Palm this year, focuses on an artist in 18th-century Brittany who is hired to paint a portrait ahead of a prospective marriage, and finds herself falling for the would-be bride. It is directed by Céline Sciamma.
American actor and artist Shia LaBeouf wrote the script for the film Honey Boy, which is loosely based in his life. It is directed by Alma Har’el, and will have its international premiere at TIFF.
La Belle Epoque is a North American premiere that will focus on the life of a “luddite cartoonist” who hires a VR company to recreate happier times in his marriage. Nicolas Bedos is the director.
Two animation premieres were also announced: Weathering with You by Makoto Shinkai and Yonfan’s No. 7 Cherry Lane. Both will be North American premieres.
And in terms of Canadian art-house cinema, there will be the North American premiere of Atom Egoyan’s latest feature, Guest of Honour.
More TIFF premiere and program announcements are expected in the coming weeks.
