Trengove's The Smell of Apples heads to Toronto
John Trengove is bringing a 1970s apartheid-era drama to Toronto.
His new film, The Smell of Apples, is adapted from Mark Behr's 1993 novel of the same name, according to Variety. The story is set under apartheid, the system of legalised racial segregation that governed South Africa until 1994. Toronto here means the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, a key autumn stop for new films.
The cast is led by Dawian van der Westhuizen as Marnus Erasmus. Hilton Pelser plays Johan and Wian Carstens plays Frikkie, with Alejandro Goic as Mr. Smith, according to Variety. Those four names form the core ensemble listed for the film.
Behr published the novel in 1993. It has since become a set text in South African schools and universities, according to Variety. A set text is a book chosen for study in class.
That history matters for general viewers. Many people in South Africa will arrive knowing the title from school. Others will meet the story first on screen.
Trengove co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher Ciancimino. Lennert Hillege served as director of photography and Birrie Le Roux served as production designer, according to Variety.
The script turns the novel into scenes, dialogue and action. The director of photography leads the camera and lighting work, while the production designer leads sets, locations and the physical look.
On the business side, Cercamon boarded sales on the film, Deadline reported in August. A sales company sells distribution rights to buyers territory by territory. Deadline described the project as a 1970s apartheid-era drama bound for Toronto.
Festivals work as a marketplace. Agents show films to distributors who then take them to cinemas in different countries.
Trengove's earlier path helps explain the festival interest. His feature debut, The Wound, was a Sundance prizewinner. He later directed Manodrome, starring Jesse Eisenberg, according to Variety.
Sundance is the US festival that often launches first-time directors to wider attention. That track record puts a spotlight on what he does next.
What makes this stand out is the crossover. One audience knows the book from the classroom. Another will meet it first as a cinema release, and Toronto is where those two tracks meet.
