Looking For Jane by Heather Marshall optioned for television to BentFrame Film & TV

We are thrilled to announce that Looking for Jane  by Heather Marshall, has been optioned for television by the Toronto-based production company BentFrame Film & TV.

BentFrame was founded by multi-award-winning director and showrunner Adrienne Mitchell whose previous credits include Coroner, Bellevue and Bomb Girls, and is working in partnership with Tehran and Reginald the Vampire producer Cineflix Studios who also handle international distribution. Zach Marcovici will produce for BentFrame, with Sonia Hosko and Brett Burlock as executive producers for Cineflix Studios. As well as Executive Producer, Mitchell will serve as lead director.

BentFrame have already attached Canadian screenwriter Celeste Parr to adapt into a high-end limited series. Parr is the WGC Award and Prix Iris-nominated film and TV writer and producer who most recently wrote the original screenplay for Ethel, the highly anticipated period musical drama and true story of Ethel Stark, the groundbreaking conductor who founded the first all-female orchestra in Montreal. Her previous credits include Hudson and Rex, This Life, and Gurov and Anna.

Spanning six decades and multiple timelines, Looking for Jane is an unforgettable novel about three women whose lives are bound together by a long-lost letter and a secret network of women fighting for the right to choose. The novel is inspired by true stories of the real-life Jane Collective that provided safe but illegal abortions under the constant threat of police raids and prison. Part mystery, part tragedy, part rallying call, Looking for Jane is an ode to our interconnectedness and the risks we’re willing to take for the freedom and dignity of our fellow human. The timely TV series is in development as the world marks the 50^th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, and when a woman’s right to choose in the US is under the greatest threat for decades.

Looking for Jane was an instant number one best seller, so far spending over 27 weeks in the best sellers list in Canada and was featured in 2022 ‘best of’ lists from Indigo, CBC, and Globe & Mail. The novel has sold to territories around the world including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Hungary, Lithuania, South Africa and Brazil.

Mitchell said, “BentFrame is all about telling powerful stories from unique perspectives which cast fresh insight on history and the many lived experiences we share. I can’t think of a better example than Heather’s exceptional novel, which shines a light on what might be history to some, but remains for many women a battle that is still being fought.”

Marshall added, “I’m delighted that BentFrame has acquired the dramatic rights to Looking for Jane. From our first meeting, it was clear that Adrienne and Zach had the passion and experience needed to bring this story to the screen, and I was so pleased when I learned they had brought on Celeste as showrunner and screenwriter. I have every confidence their adaptation will thrill readers who are eager to see the Janes come to life on-screen!”

Congratulations Heather! We could not be more proud of your beautiful and timely book and hope to see all the Janes on screen one day.