Fionn Whitehead and Luis Gnecco are set to star in Borges and Me, an adaptation of Jay Parini’s memoir of his 1970s journey through the Scottish Highlands with renowned Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. Parini is best known for his historical novel The Last Station, which was adapted as an Oscar-nominated feature by Michael Hoffman in 2009.
Dunkirk actor Whitehead, fresh off his performance as Pip opposite Olivia Colman’s Miss Havisham in the FX/BBC production of Great Expectations, will play Parini, with Chilean-Italian Gnecco, best known for his roles in Neruda, No, and A Fantastic Woman, as Borges. The cast also includes Alan Cumming, Peter Mullan, and Harriet Sansom Harris.
In Borges and Me, Parini, a 23-year-old shy student who dreams of becoming a writer, finds himself stuck in chauffeuring the brilliant, blind Borges, aged 70, through Scotland. At first, Parini is at a loss to make sense of the wild, irrepressible Borges. Their journey, much like a Borges story, takes a surreal turn that amplifies their differences until, in the tradition of a classic road movie, the two find common ground.
Marc Turtletaub (Puzzle, Jules) is directing from a screenplay by Oren Moverman (The Messenger, Love & Mercy). Shooting has begun in Scotland, with Big Beach producing and financing.
Borges and Me has been set up as a co-production between the U.K., Belgium, and The Netherlands. Producers include Alex Polunin from Ossian International in the U.K. alongside Michael B. Clark, Marc Turtletaub and Tim Foley of Big Beach, with co-producers Leontine Petit and Erik Glijnis from Lemming Film and Dries Phlypo from A Private View. Stephen Burt will executive produce.
Whitehead is represented by Curtis Brown Group, UTA, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson, & Christopher. Gnecco is represented by Ruth Franco Talent, IMC Management, and Talent on the Road Management. Cumming is represented by CAA, B-Side Management, and Bond Artist Management. Mullan is represented by Markham, Froggatt and Irwin. Harris is represented by BRS / Gage Talent Agency.
Turtletaub is represented by Anonymous Content. Moverman is represented by CAA and Seven Deuce Entertainment. Big Beach is represented by Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes LawCo in the US and Lee & Thompson in the UK.
