- Well-known faces from Harry Potter, Sex Education, Game of Thrones, The Bear, His Dark Materials and more star in new films showcasing Booker Prize 2024 shortlist.
- Produced by globally renowned Merman Television, the films are directed by one of UK television’s fastest-rising stars – writer, director, and producer Sebastian Thiel.
- Previous films showcasing the Booker Prizes’ shortlisted novels have been viewed over 50 million times and high-profile performers include Dua Lipa, David Harewood, Caitriona Balfe and Alfred Enoch.
- Novels written by authors from five countries feature on this year’s shortlist and five of the six are written by women, a first in the prize’s 55-year history.
@TheBookerPrizes | #BookerPrize2024 | thebookerprizes.com
For the fifth time in three years, the Booker Prizes have partnered with Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s production company Merman Television on a series of short films featuring well-known performers reading extracts from the shortlisted books.
Their release has become one of the most highly anticipated moments in the Booker Prizes’ calendar, with some of the UK’s leading acting and filmmaking talent keen to take part. The previous set of films, published in April, were viewed over 32 million times across the Booker Prizes’ social media channels.
The new films, which showcase the 2024 shortlist for the Booker Prize, the world’s most influential award for a single work of fiction, are directed by writer, director and producer Sebastian Thiel, one of UK television’s fastest-rising stars. His directing credits include the International Emmy-nominated BBC Three comedy Dreaming Whilst Black, and the recent Netflix series Supacell.
The performers featured are: Adelayo Adedayo (The Responder, Some Girls), Nonso Anozie (Sweet Tooth, Game of Thrones), Chipo Chung (Silo, His Dark Materials), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, The Death of Stalin), Will Poulter (Dopesick, Midsommar) and Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education, The Decameron).
The films will premiere at a Booker Prize shortlist event at the Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival at 10.30am on Saturday, 12 October, and will be published on the Booker Prizes website (thebookerprizes.com) and social channels (@thebookerprizes) the same day. They will also be shown at the Booker Prize 2024 ceremony, which will be held at Old Billingsgate, London, on Tuesday, 12 November.
The trailer for the films can be watched here.
Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, says: ‘Over the past three years the films we make with Merman have become not only one of the highlights of the Booker year, but works of art in their own right: a project that world-class actors and filmmakers want to be a part of.
‘We couldn’t be more grateful to everyone involved for the impact they have in inspiring more people to read some of the century’s greatest books.
‘Watching extraordinary actors bring fragments of the Booker shortlisted books to life is a huge thrill, and seeing the love the films get from the public once they’re out in the world proves how vivid these stories can be for everyone. We receive countless comments from people saying they want to buy and read the whole book as a result.
‘This time round the six films have been conjured by the artistry of Sebastian Thiel and his talented crew, including Director of Photography Evelin van Rei. Along with the brilliant producers and casting director at Merman, a true dream team!
‘We hope you enjoy these films as much as we have.’
Sebastian Thiel, Director of the film, adds: ‘It was a privilege to direct Booker’s latest videos and be part of a project that celebrates such great literature.
“Working with these remarkable texts and talented actors in an intimate setting inspired me creatively, allowing me to focus on simple yet meaningful visuals. It’s been a truly rewarding experience, bringing these powerful stories to life.”
More about the shortlist
The £50,000 Booker Prize is awarded annually to the best sustained work of fiction written in English by authors from anywhere in the world and published in the UK and/or Ireland.
The 2024 shortlist features five women for the first time, and authors representing five countries, including the first Dutch writer to be shortlisted and the first Australian in a decade. It features stories which transport readers around the world and beyond the Earth’s atmosphere: from the battlefields of the First World War to a spiritual retreat in rural Australia; from America’s Deep South in the 19th century to a remote Dutch house in the 1960s; from the International Space Station to a cave network beneath the French countryside.
The six books – and the performers reading extracts from them in the films – are as follows:
James by Percival Everett – read by Nonso Anozie
Orbitalby Samantha Harvey – read by Will Poulter
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner – read by Adelayo Adedayo
Heldby Anne Michaels – read by Jason Isaacs
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden – read by Tanya Reynolds
Stone Yard Devotionalby Charlotte Wood – read by Chipo Chung
The winner will be announced on Tuesday, 12 November 2024. The announcement will be broadcast live in a special edition of BBC Radio 4’s Front Row at 9.30pm, and livestreamed on the Booker Prizes’ social channels.
More about the Booker Prizes’ films
The Booker Prizes have worked with Merman on its shortlist films since 2022. The previous sets of films were directed by Charlotte Hamblin, Hannah Berry George and Kevin Thomas, and featured performances from Dua Lipa, Eleanor Tomlinson, David Jonsson, Tobias Menzies, Anya Chalotra, Antonia Thomas, Anna Friel, Jarvis Cocker, David Harewood, Nikki Amuka Bird, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Sharon Horgan, Adjoa Andoh, Aisling Bea, Jessica Brown Findlay, Toby Stephens, Michelle de Swarte, Osy Ikhile, Caitríona Balfe, Alfred Enoch, Bel Powley, Paterson Joseph, Susan Lynch and Nina Wadia.
The most recent set of films, produced for the International Booker Prize 2024 and directed by Charlotte Hamblin, was viewed over 32 million times across the Booker Prizes’ Instagram and TikTok accounts. The films produced for the Booker Prize 2022, directed by Kevin Thomas, won in the Culture category of The Drum Awards for Marketing EMEA 2023.
The director of photography for the new films is Evelin van Rei, a Dutch autistic artist working in photography and cinematography. Evelin is a full member of BAFTA and the Netherlands Society of Cinematographers, and received the Angénieux Special Encouragement Award at Cannes Film Festival in 2022. The executive producer is Joshua Buckingham.