It's an often-asked question: which is better, the book or the movie?
People have been pondering that recently with the Netflix adaptation of Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe having dropped.
And a new book club will give people a chance to discuss lots of book-to-film topics at the National Film and Sound Archive.
Book Club at the NFSA, a collaboration between the archive and the Canberra Writers Festival, will present 14 films adapted from literary works between February to December, with speakers to lead discussions after each screening.
The artistic director of Canberra Writers Festival, Beejay Silcox, said, "This is our first time collaborating with the NFSA, but not the last."
Silcox said the festival would be "about storytelling in all of its forms ... It's not just page to screen. Adaptation is part of our storytelling culture: Shakespeare's plays were adaptations of stories; Greek myths have been adapted hundreds of times, and Bible stories."
One topic for consideration was how adaptations reflected the times in which they were made and the audiences for whom they were intended.
Fight Club marks its 25th anniversary in 2024 but has lost none of its potency. Silcox said that film (screening on June 16) and its source novel by Chuck Palahniuk, explored "disaffection and alienation, particularly among young men".
She was interested in how it became embedded in our culture over the past quarter-century - how many times have you heard variations on Brad Pitt's quote, "The first rule of Fight Club is - you do not talk about Fight Club"?
And, Silcox said, Fight Club presaged a lot of what was to come in recent years, from "septic politics" to the rise of kickboxer, influencer and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate.
The speaker on the night will be Michael Winkler, the author of Grimmish, about boxer Joe Grim, which was the first self-published book to be shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
"He's one of our finest writers," Silcox said.
"I can't think of anyone more perfect."
The films and books will span a range of styles and subjects, from classics such as Jane Austen's Emma (December 8) to more recent stories from Australia and abroad including Craig Silvey's Jasper Jones (March 24) and Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting (November 17).
There will be a spotlight on adaptations of 20th-century Australian grunge literature, with film versions of John Birmingham's He Died with a Felafel in his Hand (August 11), Helen Garner's Monkey Grip (August 18) and Christos Tsiolkas's Loaded - the film was titled Head On (August 25).
The first film will be Bones and All, from Camille DeAngelis's novel about teenage cannibalism, screening on February 11 with writer Kris Kneen leading the discussion.
Silcox said the film took a more allegorical approach - "It's about not fitting in and finding your place in the world" - than the book.
The archive handled the film programming, Silcox said, while she arranged the speakers - some are already scheduled with more to come.
Creative producer and program coordinator at the archive Aidan Delaney said, "We're looking for a diversity of styles and genres and different approaches to adaptation as well as different audiences."
They said, "Nomadland [screening on April 21] is a standout for me - it's unique to have a drama adaptation of a non-fiction book, with an amazing performance by Frances McDormand," Delaney said.
The journalistic accounts of American poverty in the book were turned into one individual story for the screen.
On October 20 will be two adaptations of Henry Lawson's story The Drover's Wife: a 16mm short film and Leah Purcell's 2022 feature, adapted from her stage play, which brings First Nations and feminist perspectives to the tale.
There will also be two screen versions of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, from 1994 (May 19) and 2019 (May 26) - showing how "a story is able to be updated for different generations," Delaney said.
- Book Club at the NFSA will run at Arc Cinema from February 11 to November 8. See: nfsa.gov.au
