The author of the novel A thousand secrets, a thousand dangers, Alain Farah, has received dozens of proposals from creators who wanted to bring his work to the big screen. A prolific reader, it was filmmaker Philippe Falardeau who was commissioned to adapt this award-winning novel into a feature film.
Last October, Alain Farah received an email from a Quebec director he has long admired. Philippe Falardeau had read his novel A Thousand Secrets, A Thousand Dangers (published by Le Quartanier in 2021) and wanted to make a film out of it.
The director, who was also working on the series Le temps des raspberries, was so excited about this film adaptation – and knew that other creators had their eyes on the project – that he agreed to move faster than usual to get the project off the ground. up process.
“We met everyone to see their vision,” explains the 43-year-old author, who is signing his third novel here. We wanted to know their artistic point of view, and when you confront people with this question, you quickly understand a lot of things. »
If the meeting with Falardeau took place last December, the final signature was made just a little less than two weeks ago. For their part, the long discussions and the various technical and artistic stages have equipped the last few months of the two creators.
“It’s really beautiful,” launches the author, who already greatly admired Philippe Falardeau. I know his work well, I’m attached to his cinema and I grew up watching La Course Destination Monde with his view of the world. I know he wants to make a very personal film out of the novel, which is good because I still tell my life there using real names (laughs). »
hoped for fantasy
Farah describes the hoped-for fantasy as confirmation that her work will be brought to the big screen. His 498-page novel – on which he worked for eight years – is guided by a writing “that dialogues with cinema,” he believes.
“We take our time in writing, Philippe and I,” continues the man who claims to have no cinematic experience but is willing to learn.
“We want to dive into the project now and take the time to get things right. That will be Philippe’s scenario but I will be there to help him. In fact, I will be at his service and observe what he has to offer me while attempting to bracket that this is my book. »
While it’s still too early to speculate on the names of the actors who will make up the cast, the Montreal-born Egyptian author to Lebanese parents knows that one of the challenges of the film will be to live up to that reality, the depicted in the novel: that of an Egyptian and Lebanese community in Montreal.
As for the whirlwind and extraordinary enthusiasm for his autobiographical novel, which takes up important themes (family, immigration, grief, suffering, money, religion), he does not try to explain.
However, when asked, he replies that this is probably due to a number of things, including the topic and the right timing for it.
“There has to be a correspondence between what you’ve done and what people are reading,” he explains. Right now, we’re listening to immigrant Québecians starting to share stories from their Québec past, but of a different nature, with a different background. »
“My book approaches racism in a more unique way, with a character choosing to actively deny her immigrant side, with horrifying consequences. »
- the novel A thousand secrets, a thousand dangers by Alain Farah was a finalist for the 2022 Prix des libraires du Québec and a finalist for the 2022 Prix littéraire des Collégiens.