In the film, the character of Jónas, a man who leaves for a country at war with the idea of ending his life, has become Jean (played by Sébastien Ricard), and he is no longer Icelandic, he is Quebecois . What did you think of this change?
I decided to give Léa Pool carte blanche because an artist must trust another artist 100%. For a long time, it was me, the problem, because I resisted, I didn’t want to give the film rights to anyone. Neither in Iceland nor abroad. And there were requests for several novels (for Gold and for other novels as well). I have always been this difficult writer (laughs), but when I made the decision to let go, I decided not to get involved and to give total freedom to Léa Pool. Actually, I think it made it a little easier, the fact that it was a foreign film and not Icelandic. It’s her film, it’s independent, it’s her work.
This is the first time that you have granted the cinematographic rights for one of your novels. Why did you choose to say yes to Léa Pool?
First, because I really like French-speaking Canadian cinema for its originality. That was the first point. And afterwards, Léa Pool has a lot of maturity. I watched his other films and I really liked his sensitivity, his intelligence, and I decided to give it a try, I had no worries. And the fact that it’s still been a few years since I wrote Gold also helped me a lot to distance myself from the cinematographic work.
Léa Pool used numerous extracts from the book in the narration and dialogues. What did you think of the film?
I was really relieved when she sent me the film, it’s been a few months already. I think she was stressed, and so was I! I remember taking a walk before watching it. But after five minutes, I was relieved. Also because it is an independent work; it’s not a compromise, while remaining faithful to the novel. Everything must be reduced to a human scale so that those watching the film can identify with the story. And we create this microcosm of someone who is suffering. A character who suffers, all humanity suffers. And the reconstruction that often takes place in my novels, which in some way symbolizes the character’s initiatory journey, the healing, the repair, is what unites both my book and the film.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir in interview with The Press
What did you think about the fact that it was Gold which is the first of your novels to be adapted for the big screen?
It makes sense, first of all, because unfortunately, the subject is still very topical. There are still 60 wars in the world, and climate problems have faded into the background in Western countries. At the same time, it’s rather logical because it’s my most translated novel in the world, in around thirty languages – Rosa Candida comes second. Gold has also won a major prize, the Nordic Council Grand Prize for Literature (in 2018) and has been shortlisted for major prizes in Italy and elsewhere.
Do you have a new novel in the works?
I have just released a new novel in Icelandic, it is called DJ Bambi. It’s about a trans woman who is in her sixties and who is a DJ. An Icelandic producer already asked me for the film rights to this novel, but I refused; It had just come out, I wasn’t ready. Éric Boury is translating it into French, but I think it will come out next year instead.
Hotel Silence will be presented in theaters on Friday
Who is Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir?
- Icelandic writer, born in Reykjavik in 1958, she has been translated around the world since her novel Rosa Candidawho won the Prix des libraires du Québec in 2011.
- His novel Miss Iceland received the prestigious Foreign Medici Prize in 2019.
- Goldwhich means “scars” in Icelandic, was published in French in 2017, by Zulma.
- His most recent novel translated into French, Edenwas published last November (by Zulma).
Gold
Zulma
240 pages
reference: www.lapresse.ca