Irish director Alan Gilsenan’s new film ‘Unless’ has entered principal photography in Toronto, Canada.
‘Unless’ is a Canadian/Irish co-production – produced by Tristan Orpen Lynch and Aoife O’Sullivan of Subotica and Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny of Sienna Films. Financing comes from the Irish Film Board, Telefilm Canada, the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), Mongrel Media, Premiere Fund and Windmill Lane Pictures, with development funding by Super Channel.
Based on the award-winning and final novel from Canadian author Carol Shields, the film stars Catherine Keener in the lead role as a writer and translator whose life is rocked when her eldest daughter drops out of college and is found on a Toronto street corner, pan-handling and refusing to speak. The film also stars Matt Craven, Hannah Gross, Chloe Rose, Abigail Winter, Martha Henry and Hanna Schygulla.
In addition to directing, Alan Gilsenan also adapted the book for the screen. Past credits of Gilsenan’s include ‘Eliza Lynch: Queen of Paraguay’, ‘The Yellow Bittern’ and ‘Timbuktu’ – with the director garnering IFTA nominations for the latter two films.
Speaking to Screen International, Gilsenan said: ‘Carol Shields’ Unless is her surprising, moving and angry swan-song, a book both for our time and very much of our time. It is a real honour and delight to be finally bringing it to the cinema screen with such an extraordinary cast.’
