The film adaptation of Tove Jansson’s beloved The Summer Book will premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in October. The news about the world premiere was accompanied by the first released photo from the film, showing 8-time Academy Award -nominated Glenn Close and debuting actress Emily Matthews.
The world premiere of the first feature film based on The Summer Book will take place at the BFI London Film Festival on 12 October. Ticket sales starts on 17 September.
The film will premiere in cinemas in Tove Jansson’s native Finland on January 31st. More information about festivals and releases to follow.
Shot on location in the Finnish archipelago, the film is directed by Charlie McDowell (Windfall, The one I love). 8-times Oscar-nominated actress Glenn Close plays one of the leading roles as the grandmother, and Emily Matthews plays the little girl Sophia. This is the first film role for Matthews, who lives in Finland.
Sophia’s father is played by Anders Danielsen Lie, a Norwegian actor who has been nominated for an Academy Award for the film The Worst Person in the World.
Watch a scene from the movie
The first released scene from the movie features Glenn Close as the grandmother trying to support Sophia, played by Emily Matthews, who very much wants to swim, yet is afraid to do so.
Eight-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close, who recently completed filming on two features for Netflix: director Seth Gordon’s action-comedy “Back in Action” and Lee Daniels’ exorcism thriller “The Deliverance”, has been a fixture within the entertainment industry for half a century.
Photo: Lev Radin 2019, Shutterstock
Anders Danielsen Lie plays the role of the father in The Summer Book film.
He earned rave reviews and international acclaim for the recent Academy Award nominated film The Worst Person in the World.
Photo: Kris Myhre
“I’m deeply honored to be adapting one of my favorite novels.”
Director Charlie McDowell, a Tove Jansson and Moomin fan himself, says the novel is very dear to him:
“I’m deeply honored to be adapting one of my favorite novels, Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book, and to film in Finland, the beautiful country in which this story is based”, said McDowell.
Photo: Thomas Birkett
“It’s long been a dream of mine to work with Glenn Close. I’ve long admired her thoughtfulness, immense versatility, and deeply captivating presence both on the stage and on screen. I first discovered Anders Danielsen Lie from his brilliant collaborations with Joachim Trier, and he’s quickly become one of my favorite actors out of Scandinavia. I can’t imagine a more magnificent duo to collaborate with on this film”, he continued.
Producers of the film are Kath Mattock for Stille productions, Kevin Loader for Free Range Films, Duncan Montgomery for High Frequency Entertainment, Aleksi Bardy for Helsinki Film and Charlie McDowell and Alex Orlovsky for Case Study Films. Executive Producers include Jack Selby for High Frequency, Arthur Farache and Victoria Castelli for Hurst Capital and Lily Collins for Case Study Films.
“Seeing that story finally come alive on the big screen will be fantastic and moving on a deeply personal level.”
The Summer Book, a timeless classic first published in 1972, was very personal for Tove Jansson and was also one of her favourites.
It portrays the developing unique friendship between a young girl, Sophia, and her grandmother, who spend endless summer days on an island far out in the archipelago. As the two learn to adjust to each other’s fears, whims and yearnings, a fierce yet understated love emerges – one that encompasses not only the summer inhabitants but the very island itself.
The interactions between the two are used to express universal truths – about youth and age, wisdom in the shadow of mortality, and an island world as a metaphor for our own microcosm.
Sophia Jansson, Tove Jansson’s niece, adds, “The Summer Book is dear to many readers around the world. It is my favourite of Tove Jansson’s books, and it holds a very special place in my heart. Every word of it ushers in vivid childhood memories of my beloved grandmother – her voice, her way of relating to and moving around the island. Seeing that story finally come alive on the big screen will be fantastic and moving on a deeply personal level.”
Tove Jansson captured much of her own life and spirit in The Summer Book, which was her favourite of her adult novels. This edition, with a Foreword by Esther Freud, sees the return of a European literary gem, fresh, authentic and deeply humane.
Get The Summer Book here!
Follow the official Moomin and Tove Jansson channels for information about where to see the film.
Cover photo: Roxana Reiss
An exclusive video reportage from Tove Jansson’s summer paradise
Tove Jansson’s Klovharun is an islet in the outermost archipelago of the Gulf of Finland, where Tove spent almost 30 summers.
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson turns 50 years – Anniversary edition out now!
Anniversary edition of The Summer Book by Tove Jansson now available! The essay The Island and an afterword by her niece Sophia Jansson incl.