(For Immediate Release – Wednesday, April 27, 2005) Toronto, Ontario - Toronto-based Markham Street Films has acquired the rights to ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT: Excursions Through the World After Dark, by Canadian writer Christopher Dewdney (The Immaculate Perception). Published in 2004 by HarperCollins Canada and a finalist for the 2004 Governor General Literary Award for non-fiction, Markham Street Films plans to adapt ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT into a feature film and limited series for television. Production will be in High Definition and is estimated to begin late 2005 and will be directed by Michael McNamara.
“From the moment I picked up the book I knew I wanted to work on a visual interpretation. Christopher Dewdney's poetic writing and sense of the subject will make a beautiful and intriguing film,” says Judy Holm, Co-President, Markham Street Films.
ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT takes readers on a fascinating journey through the nocturnal realm. Twelve chapters correspond to the twelve hours of an "ideal" night, starting at 6PM and ending at 6AM, and serve as points of departure for night's central themes: sunsets, nocturnal animals, bedtime stories, festivals of the night, fireworks, nightclubs, astronomy, sleep and dreams, the graveyard shift, ladies of the night, the art of night, and endless nights.
Michael McNamara, writer and director of the 2004 Gemini Award for Best History Documentary, RADIO REVOLUTION: The Rise & Fall of The Big 8 is thrilled at the prospect of directing ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT, and says, “The themes explored in this work are breathtakingly expansive, encompassing fantasy, legend, myth, natural science, poetry, childhood, mortality and sensuality. This is incredibly rich territory for a film series that will touch the hearts and minds of anyone who sleeps and dreams.”
Christopher Dewdney is best known as a poet who has combined a deft lyric touch with a deep interest in science. He is the author of three books of nonfiction—Last Flesh, The Secular Grail, and The Immaculate Perception—as well as eleven books of poetry. In 1984 (together with William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Michael Ondaatje and Tom Waits) he was featured in the internationally acclaimed documentary Poetry in Motion. He is an active figure in the North American literary scene and has been published in Germany, England, China, Spain, India as well as in the US. A three-time nominee for Governor General's Awards and a first-prize winner of the CBC Literary Competition, Dewdney lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Markham Street Films Inc. is a production company based in Toronto, Canada, specializing in documentary and feature films. Formed in 2002 by partners Judy Holm and Michael McNamara, Markham Street Films has originated such distinct documentaries as the Gemini Award nominated WRINKLE, and produced HEARING VOICES: The Lives and Times of Rich Little (CBC), 2004 Gemini winner RADIO REVOLUTION: THE RISE & FALL OF THE BIG 8 (History Television), GENUINE ARTICLE: The First Trial (The Documentary Channel), Meet the Sumdees (Vision TV) and PENIS DEMENTIA: The Search For the Perfect Penis (Discovery Health & SBS Australia). Markham Street Films is currently producing a number of new television documentaries including 100 FILM & A FUNERAL (The Documentary Channel) and SHRINES & HOMEMADE HOLY PLACES (Vision TV) as well as the fictional feature films VICTORIA DAY, SLEEPYHEAD and THE RETURN OF THE FABULOUS SEVEN.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Markham Street Films Inc. Tel. 416-536-1390 info@markhamstreet.com
