The forthcoming publication will be a debut for the Irish writer, based on her life and marriage with husband, Director and Screenwriter Simon Fitzmaurice, which is set to publish in June 2017 from Chatto & Windus.
Element Pictures boast the team behind the Oscar-nominated ‘Room’, which was adapted for the screen from Irish writer Emma Donoghue from her novel of the same name. Donoghue’s work on ‘Room’ earned her a respective Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay and the IFTA for Script Film at the 2016 IFTA Film & Drama Awards.
The production and distribution company also brought Cannes Jury Prize-winning ‘The Lobster’ (Colin Farrell) to the big screen, among other leading titles such as ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ and ‘The Guard.’
Ruth Fitzmaurice previously wrote under the title ‘I found my tribe at the cove in Greystones’ in an Irish Times article in January of this year, describing the haven her regular swim at a Ladies’ Cove, Greystones. She views it as such against the backdrop of husband Simon’s Motor Neuron Disease and its effect on her marriage, five children and the rhythm of their home life. In this article, she describes her husband as follows:
“My husband is a wonder to me but he is hard to find. I search for him in our home. He breathes through a pipe in his throat. He feels everything but cannot move a muscle. I lie on his chest counting mechanical breaths. I hold his hand but he doesn’t hold back. His darting eyes are the only windows left.”
Simon is the director behind IFTA-nominated ‘My Name is Emily’, and shorts ‘The Sound of People’, ‘Tilly and the Teeth’ and ‘Full Circle’.
Emma Norton, Element Pictures:
“Ruth’s writing has the power to stop you in your tracks and make you look at the world differently. From the moment, we read her article in The Irish Times we were totally captivated by her voice and perspective on her life. We feel a deep responsibility towards adapting I Found My Tribe for screen and can’t wait to start working with Ruth on it.”
The Irish Times: 'I found my tribe at a cove in Greystones'