Ursula K. Le Guin fans are still mourning the loss of the iconic sci-fi writer, but just over month after her death comes word that an adaptation of “The Telling” is in the works. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that “20 Weeks” filmmaker Leena Pendharkar will write and direct the film.
Published in 2000, the novel follows Sutty Dass, “who travels from war-torn earth to the planet Aka, which has suppressed its rich culture in the march to technological advancement,” THR writes. “While traveling, Sutty discovers the remnants of a banned religion and a hidden culture. As she moves deeper into the countryside and the desolate mountains, she learns more about the Telling — the old faith of the Akans — and more about herself.”
Rekha Sharma (“The 100,” “Battlestar Galatica”) will play Sutty in the Bayview Films title. Production is scheduled to kick off later this year with a theatrical release planned for 2019.
“I’m honored to bring the work of one of science fiction’s most esteemed writers to the screen especially in these times when strong female voices are needed,” said Pendharkar. “‘The Telling’ is a humanistic science fiction film about a woman trying to find her way in a culture overrun by technology.”
According to THR, “The Telling’s” producers were collaborating with Le Guin before she passed away on January 22. Widely considered one of the most influential genre writers of all time, her award-winning books include “The Left Hand of Darkness,” “The Farthest Shore,” and “The Dispossessed.” Her novels are noted for their feminist themes, and the author often spoke out against sexism.
“I feel a certain obligation to sort of stand up and be counted as a woman who has had kids and brought them up, and also done creative work, which — particularly in the arts — there does seem to be almost a sort of agreement that this can’t be done,” she said in 1989. “Another thing that I’ve found … [is that] women who write, who have children, their work tends to get ‘disappeared.’ They’re not quite respectable. The few women who are counted part of the great canon of English literature tend to be childless and often unmarried … I have to say, the men seem to prefer it that way.”
Written and directed by Pendharkar, “20 Weeks” premiered at the 2017 LA Film Festival. The drama is scheduled to open in theaters this spring, and tells the story of an expectant couple whose baby is diagnosed with a serious health condition at the 20 week ultrasound. Her other credits include feature “Raspberry Magic” and shorts “Dandekar Makes a Sandwich” and “Mother at Work!”
