A thousand secrets, a thousand dangers: when fantasies come true

The author of the novel A thousand secrets and a thousand dangersAlain Farah received dozens of proposals from creators wishing to display his work on screen. It was filmmaker Philip Vallardo, an avid reader, who won the commission to turn this award-winning novel into a feature film.

Last October, Alain Farah received an email from a Quebec manager who had been a longtime fan of him. Philip Vallardo read his novel A thousand secrets and a thousand dangers (published in 2021 by Le Quartanier publisher) and wanted to make a movie about it.

Working on the series at the same time berry timeThe director was so keen on this adaptation—and knowing that other creators were also keeping an eye on this project—that he agreed to move forward faster than usual with the project’s launch process.

“We met everyone to see their vision,” explains the 43-year-old author who signs his third novel here. We wanted to know their artistic point of view, and when you expose people to that question, you quickly understand a lot of things.”

If the meeting with Vallardo took place last December, the final signature was affixed a little less than two weeks ago. Long conversations and various artistic and artistic stages, for their part, have saved the creators the last months.

“It’s really beautiful, fired the author, who already had a lot of admiration for Philip Vallardo. I know his work very well, I am attached to his cinema and I was brought up with his vision of the world Global Destination Racing. I know he has the will to make the novel a very personal movie, which is a good thing, because I still tell my life there using real names (Laughter). »

Imagination hopes

Farah describes the assertion that her work will be shown on the big screen as a hopeful fantasy. He believes his 498-page novel – which took him eight years to work on – is led by the writing of A Dialogue with Cinema.

“In writing, we give ourselves time, Philip and I,” continues the person who claims to have no cinema experience, but to be willing to learn.

“We really want to dive into the project and take the time to do things right. This will be Philip’s script, but I will be there to help him. In fact, I will be at his service and I will keep an eye on what he has to offer me as I try 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 author – born in Montreal to Lebanese parents from Egypt – knows that one of the film’s challenges will be to do justice to this reality. Filmed by the novel: An Egyptian and Lebanese community in Montreal.

As for the whirlwind and extraordinary enthusiasm for his autobiographical novel that deals with important themes (family, immigration, mourning, suffering, money, religion), he makes no attempt to explain it.

However, he answered, upon asking the question, that it probably came down to a series of things, including the subject and the appropriate time to do so.

“There has to be a match between what you have done and where people are reading,” he explains. We are now listening to Quebecers with immigrant backgrounds who are beginning to tell stories about their past in Quebec, but of a different kind, with a different path. »

My book addresses the issue of racism in a much more unique way, with a character who has decided to actively deny her immigrant side, with dire consequences. »

• the Romans A thousand secrets and a thousand dangers Written by Alain Farah Was a finalist for the Prix des libraires du Québec 2022 and a finalist for the Prix littéraire des Collégiens 2022.