NFB Options Atwood Title

TORONTO: The National Film Board of Canada is making a documentary film based on acclaimed Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s 2008 nonfiction book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth.

"This is a brilliant book on a timely subject by one of the most accomplished writers in the world," said NFB producer Ravida Din, who has enlisted Jennifer Baichwal to direct the doc. "It made complete sense to me that the NFB should produce this documentary. I am always thinking about the NFB’s unique and integral role in culture, in artistic excellence and in producing thought-provoking social documentaries. Jennifer will bring her usual intensity and very clever approach to this subject. A collaboration with Margaret Atwood felt as obvious as a collaboration with Jennifer."

The book is an investigation into the idea of debt as an ancient and central motif in religion, literature and the structure of human societies. It is a finalist for the 2009 National Business Book Award, a selected title of the 2008 Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of the Year and has been awarded Silver in the 2008 Axiom Business Book Awards—Business Ethics. Payback was released in October 2008 by House of Anansi Press.