Modern Films has taken on the film adaptation of Jessica Au’s award-winning novel “Cold Enough for Snow,” with theater veteran Jemima James set to make her feature directorial debut. The project is at TIFFCOM‘s Tokyo Gap-Financing Market.
The source material, which won the inaugural Novel Prize from publishers Fitzcarraldo Editions, New Directions and Giramondo, follows a mother and daughter’s journey through Tokyo as they navigate their complex relationship amid autumn rains and modern art galleries. The 2022 novel was selected from more than 1,500 entries.
The project, structured as a U.K.-Japan-Australia-Hong Kong co-production with a £3.5 million ($4.5 million) budget, is slated to begin filming in fall 2025. The production plans include 32 shooting days spread across Japan (18 days), Australia (11 days), and Hong Kong (3 days), with post-production expected to take place in the U.K.
“I read ‘Cold Enough For Snow’ just after it was published in the U.K. and was blindsided by how much it moved me,” James tells Variety. “It’s a slim novel, under a hundred pages, but that belies its depth and its power. Jesica Au’s writing has a sort of slow release effect on the reader – it remains alive and provocative in you long after you’ve put the book down. That’s the kind of writing I’m compelled by and the kind of cinema I hope to make.”
James brings substantial theater experience to the project, having served as associate director and co-dramaturg for Complicité’s production of “The Encounter,” which played at London’s Barbican Centre before transferring to Broadway. Her short film “Grace On A Saturday Night,” funded by BFI Network, screened at Manchester International Film Festival and Nottingham Film Festival in 2021.
“I hope the film, like the book, creates space for audiences to think and feel deeply about the important people in their lives, about the relationships that are central to them. I hope it provokes shifts of perspective, new understanding, new compassion for the people they love, however complex or complicated that love might be,” James said.
Modern Films CEO Eve Gabereau, who previously co-founded Soda Pictures and helped bring “Drive My Car” to U.K. and Irish audiences, has already secured 60% of the film’s funding. “Jemima knew about my work in and with Japan over the years, including having lived there for many years,” says Gabereau. “This combination brought us together very naturally and we then developed a quick rapport and kindred spirit about how to adapt it from page to screen. Jemima is a wonderful writer and brings with her to the camera a distinct eye that we can see in her shorts and theater productions.”
The production team includes May Leung as production consultant and co-producer, bringing her experience from projects like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Inception” to the table. Satoko Sekiguchi serves as production assistant.
The producers are heading to the Tokyo Gap Financing Market to secure their Japanese co-producer, confirm main locations and shooting schedule, and meet with key financiers, Japanese funding agencies, sales companies and distributors.
Modern Films, launched in 2017, has built a track record with titles including the Cate Blanchett-starring “Manifesto” and “I Am Not a Witch,” which earned BIFA and BAFTA recognition. The company currently holds rights to over 100 films and has been named Highly Acclaimed Distributor of Year from 2019-2022.
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