new:  Michael Winterbottom’s A Farewell to Arms adaptation, but it now has fresh impetus with producer-financier Tribune Pictures and UK sales firm Embankment Films, which is bringing it to the Cannes market.
The story follows Frederic Henry, a young American ambulance driver serving in Italy who is wounded during the war and falls in love with the British nurse Catherine Barkley. Production is aiming to start in January 2027.
Director Winterbottom, said today: “Hemingway believed in paring a story down to the bare bones. He argued that a novel could be like an iceberg: the reader only sees the tip above the water but feels the bulk and weight of what lies below the surface. I want our film to be true to Hemingway’s approach — immediate, raw and natural — and I think in Tom Blyth we have found the perfect person to be Frederic Henry.”
Tom Blyth, for whom the project has long been a passion, commented: “As a lover of Hemingway and a big admirer of Michael Winterbottom’s filmmaking, it’s an honour to be trusted with this adaptation. Michael has adapted the script in a way that totally pays homage to Hemingway’s style, while lifting the story from book to screen in a fresh and exhilarating way. With the world once again facing conflicts not seen in generations, this story couldn’t be more pertinent and necessary. And yet at it’s heart, despite its tragedy, it’s a story of hope and love surviving against all odds. I can’t wait to bring one of my favourite books and characters to life on the big screen”
