Diary of a Film: a cinematic playlist
Posted by Niven Govinden
EVENT: on Thursday 19 May, Niven Govinden joins us at the shop to discuss his latest novel, Diary of a Film. Book your tickets here.
Ahead of the event, Niven shares some of the celluloid inspirations behind the book.
There’s always been a strong cinematic presence to my work. Every novel I’ve written is indebted to film as much as literature; moods or tones from films I’d seen that stayed with me for years and that I wanted to infuse somehow on the page. In Diary of a Film, with it’s conversational leaning towards films, books, and what makes a creative life, I had the chance to be more explicit about the cinema I loved. This is a brief list of films and filmmakers whose presence I hope can be felt, and maybe ones you’ll reach for once you’ve finished the book.
The Garden of The Finzi-Continis (dir. Vittorio De Sica, 1970)
The Structure of Crystal (dir. Krzysztof Zanussi, 1969)
My Own Private Idaho (dir. Gus Van Sant, 1991) / My Own Private River ( dirs. Gus Van Sant / Franco 2012)
La Terra Trema (dir. Luchino Visconti, 1948)
Fear Eats The Soul (dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)
Daguerreotypes (dir. Agnes Varda, 1976)
Diary of a Film is published by Dialogue Books, priced £9.99. Get your tickets for this Thursday’s event here.
