I'll end the week with a Dave Eggers twofer:1) The...

I’ll end the week with a Dave Eggers twofer:

1) The trailer for Away We Go, an indie-like comedy written by Eggers and his wife Vendela Vida and directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty , Revolutionary Road). I read a draft of the screenplay a few years ago when it was called “This Must Be The Place” and found it to be quirky/cute in a Little Miss Sunshine sort of way. (via kottke)

2) This one’s a little old, but I just heard about it. Tom Tykwer, gun shootout director extraordinaire (and of Run, Lola, Run fame), is working on a film adaptation of Eggers’s novel What is the What. I read WitW last year and I thought it was excellent – you should all read it if you haven’t yet.

Submitted by crazymonk on Fri, 03/20/2009 - 5:00am.

Comments (6)

I loved What is the What and from everything I've learned it seems to be an accurate reflection of an experience in a refugee camp and settlement in the states. There's also a worthwhile documentary on the subject: The Lost Boys of Sudan.

Annie | Sat, 03/21/2009 - 6:38am

The refugee camp stuff was of course fascinating, but I think it was the U.S. sections that really elevated the book for me. It had some really interesting insight into the effectiveness of non-profit organizations on the lives involved. I hope that's a focus in the film as well.

I haven't seen the documentary.

crazymonk | Sat, 03/21/2009 - 12:00pm

i like all of those people in that trailer. especially maya rudolph.

jbg. | Sat, 03/21/2009 - 12:30pm

Really? You like Maya Rudolph? Huh. What, is she going to sing in this movie?
I like everyone, but her.

Los Angeles Anthony | Sat, 03/21/2009 - 1:16pm

that's my future ex-wife you're talking about.

jbg. | Sat, 03/21/2009 - 5:19pm

CM--I agree about the parts of the US settlement being more captivating, especially considering the "welcoming society." The government really does very little other than bring the refugees here (which I'm not discounting, although...).

Just back from a day-long conference on refugee African francophone women living in Ontario who are separated from their children (if you're looking for a people who are at the bottom of the totem pole...). At times they wait up to 7 years to be reunited with their children, and if the child has surpassed 21 years of age by the time the woman gets their claim accepted, they have to be sponsored under a different, more time-consuming process. For these women whose sole identity is as a mother and care-taker, it is an endless process. This makes the presentation I went to last night on islamaphobia seem light in comparison...

Keepin' it light in Toronto | Sat, 03/21/2009 - 7:32pm