“Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word Is Power,” a documentary about the author of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” has scored a raft of international deals.
The doc was produced by Canada-based White Pine Pictures with pubcaster the CBC. Sky has acquired it for its Sky Arts channel in the U.K. and Arte has taken it for France and Germany. In the U.S., it has landed with Hulu, home of the immensely successful TV adaptation of “The Handmaid’s Tale” starring Elisabeth Moss.
Elsewhere, the SBS has pre-bought the documentary for Australia, and SVT for Sweden.
The program is set to bow on CBC’s documentary channel on Nov. 19. It takes a closer look at the Canadian author who wrote hugely acclaimed books such as “The Blind Assassin” and “Alias Grace.” Her latest book, “The Testaments,” a sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” has just been published and has won Britain’s prestigious Booker Prize.
The documentary follows Atwood as she visits the set of “The Handmaid’s Tale” series in Toronto, where she meets Moss and Ane Crabtree, costume designer on the series. The film also delves into Atwood’s youth in the Canadian wilderness, her early days as a poet at Harvard, meeting her partner, Graeme Gibson, the couple’s political activism, and the writing of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Kew Media Distribution is selling the doc and struck the international presales. “If we needed proof of the rise in demand for fascinating, topical documentaries, then this is it,” said Jonathan Ford, EVP of sales at Kew Media. “Margaret Atwood’s literary super-stardom has translated into worldwide interest in this film.”
