Everything we know about Sofia Coppola’s upcoming AIDS crisis drama, ‘Fairyland’

The film will be based on Alysia Abbott's 'Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father'.

There aren’t many filmmakers whose projects rile up excitement quite like Sofia Coppola. So, thankfully, it seems her next film, Fairyland, will be hitting our screens soon enough.

The flick is an adaptation of Alysia Abbott’s 2013 memoir, Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father. Coppola’s production company purchased the rights for the novel upon its release in 2013. It follows a two-year-old Abbott, who recalls her youth spent in vibrant San Francisco in the 70s and 80s with her bisexual father. The story intersects with the AIDS crisis and how it tragically claimed her father’s life. Sofia said in a statement: “I love the book Fairyland; it’s a sweet and unique love story of a girl and her dad, both growing up together in 1970s San Francisco. I think it will make an engaging and touching movie on a subject I’ve never seen before.”

The Lost in Translation director began writing the script for Fairyland as a solo project but ended up partnering with director Andrew Dunham, who was enlisted as a co-writer. Now, he’s enlisted as the director for the film, and its sole writer, too. Abbott shared that she was happy to allow the duo to undertake the project, partly due to Dunham’s personal connection to the story. “He is a gay man who lost his own father to AIDS, so I believe he is going to be sensitive to the film,” she said in an interview. “He assured me it will not be like Dallas Buyers Club.” Coppola has now taken on the reigns as a producer with her brother Roman.

Emilia Jones will play the role of Abbott, following up her breakout role in CODA, while Scoot McNairy has been assigned the role of her father, Steve. Other cast members include Geena Davis, Maria Bakalova, Cody Fern and Adam Lambert.

So, when will we all be able to see this project come to life? Well, Fairyland has officially wrapped filming. However, there is no confirmed release date as of yet. It hasn’t been bought by any distributors or scheduled for film festivals, so it looks like you’ll have to wait just a little longer before getting another dose of Coppola greatness.

Writer
Chris Saunders
Banner Image Credit
Alysia Abbott