The Lakefield Literary Festival is presenting a public screening of an award-winning documentary on Canadian literary giant Margaret Atwood in November as a fundraiser for the annual festival, which is returning in 2023 after a three-year absence due to the pandemic.
Margaret Atwood: A Word after a Word after a Word is Power will be shown in the Bryan Jones Theatre at Lakefield College School at 7 p.m. on Sunday, November 13th. Tickets are $15 in advance at lakefieldliteraryfestival.com or at the door. Proof of vaccination will be required at the door, with masking optional.
Produced by White Pine Pictures, the 2019 documentary was directed and produced by Peter Raymont and Nancy Lang, who will be attending the screening to introduce the film and will also be available following the screening for a question-and-answer session.
Named after a line from the poem “Spelling” in Atwood’s 1981 True Stories collection, the documentary sees a film crew follow the then-80-year-old Atwood and her now-late partner Graeme Gibson over the course of a year, as they jet to speaking engagements around the world, take a family holiday, and visit the set of The Handmaid’s Tale — the Emmy award-winning Hulu series based on Atwood’s book of the same name that made her even more of a household name — where Atwood meets with lead actor Elisabeth Moss and Ane Crabtree, the designer of the blood-red robes now worn by protesters around the world.
The film delves into Atwood’s backstory, including her childhood spent in the Canadian wilderness, her early days at Harvard and as a poet, and how she came to meet Gibson and write The Handmaid’s Tale. Atwood is seen working on the final chapters of The Testaments — the highly anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale that went on to win the 2019 Booker Prize — on planes, on boats, and on the road. Atwood’s closest friends and family share stories, as does the author herself.
Atwood’s major works are also explored throughout the film, revealing the personal and societal factors that informed her writing, with actor Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) reading Atwood’s poetry and prose.
VIDEO: “Margaret Atwood: A Word after a Word after a Word is Power” trailer
Margaret Atwood: A Word after a Word after a Word is Power has won numerous awards, including the 2021 People’s Choice Award at the Hudson Film Festival and 2020 Best Documentary Feature at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.
Originally established in 1995 as a celebration of Margaret Laurence, who lived in Lakefield until her death in 1987 — and also commemorating Lakefield’s rich literary heritage with two of Canada’s most important 19th-century writers, sisters Catharine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie, having lived in the area — the Lakefield Literary Festival showcases Canadian authors and promotes the joy of reading and writing among children and adults.
The festival celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019, and has been on hiatus since then due to the pandemic. It will return in July 2023.
