STILLE WASSER | THE POOLS has been translated from German by Lilli Geissendorfer and is currently seeking UK co-producers to work with GFF & Strawberry Vale on bringing it to the big screen.
STILLE WASSER
Kinofilm | Buch: Martina Borger nach dem Roman von Bethan Roberts | GFF
Eine englische Kleinstadt in Oxfordshire, England. Der gewaltsame Tod des Schülers Robert reißt die Menschen aus der trügerischen Ruhe des gewohnten, gleichförmigen Lebens. Er verbindet für einen kurzen, tragischen Moment die Biografien von Roberts Mitschülerin Joana, deren eindeutiges Interesse von Robert unerwidert blieb, Roberts Eltern Howard und Kathryn, deren Ehe schon vor dem Verlust des Sohnes zu einem langen stillen Leiden geworden war und dem geistig zurückgebliebenen Schüler Shane, an dem Joana ihre weiblichen Reize ausprobieren konnte, ohne dabei über die Folgen nachzudenken.
Kurz bevor sich Robert aus der Enge der Kleinstadt und dem eisernen Griff seines homophoben Vaters befreien kann, findet sein Leben im eiskalten Wasser eines Teiches ein jähes Ende.
Das Geflecht aus Sehnsüchten, Wünschen und Ängsten der Menschen in diesem Film nach dem Roman "The Pools" von Bethan Roberts bildet den Boden für ein dichtes Drama, dessen tragischer Ausgang unerklärlich und zugleich unvermeidbar bleibt.
THE POOLS
Feature Film | Script: Martina Borger | Based on the novel by Bethan Roberts |
‘The Pools’ is based on Bethan Roberts celebrated first novel, “a startling psychological thriller” that focuses on the unravelling of a small Oxfordshire community after the murdered body of a teenage boy is found near the pools of the local power station.
Infused with the sights and sounds of the mid-1980s, the novel is described by London publisher Serpent’s Tail as a glimpse into “the Oxfordshire that Inspector Morse never saw – a startling psychological thriller, reminiscent of Barbra Vine at her best.” It subtly reveals the tensions and terrors that underpin apparently ordinary lives, and can lead them to spiral suddenly out of control.
SYNOPSIS:
Middle England, mid-1980s. The kind of place where nothing ever happens. Except something has happened. A fifteen year old boy called Robert has been killed, down by the pools. And half a dozen lives will come unravelled.
There's Joanna, the teen queen of nowheresville. She's been looking for a way out, escape from her parents' broken marriage. She thought Rob might take her away from all this, but lately she's started to think Rob might have other plans.
There's Kathryn and Howard, Rob's parents. Kath has been making the best of her second marriage after the love of her life died young. Howard has been clinging onto a family life he hardly expected to have.
And then there's Shane, with the big hands and the fixation on Joanna.
PRAISE FOR THE NOVEL:
"A complex anatomy of a murder, The Pools brilliantly evokes the sickening recognition of a wasteful death. Bethan Roberts is a fearless writer whose first novel raises questions about fate and responsibility that remain with the reader long after the last page has been turned. A compelling debut." Louise Welsh
"An unsettling and disturbing tale of awakening sexuality and predatory parents." Patricia Duncker
"A tense thriller that reminded me of Julie Myerson's Something Might Happen." Eve Magazine
BIOGRAPHY:
Bethan Roberts was born in Oxford and brought up in nearby Abingdon. She has MAs from Sussex and Chichester Universities and teaches creative writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. Roberts was awarded a Jerwood/Arvon Young Writers’ Prize for The Pools. She lives in Brighton.