Spielberg’s film company buys rights to novel on Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Colum McCann’s upcoming ‘Apeirogon’ tells story of unlikely friendship between Israeli, Palestinian fathers who both lost daughters to bloodshed

By JTA 14 February 2020, 8:42 am

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Filmmaker Steven Spielberg poses at the 2019 "An Unforgettable Evening" benefiting the Women's Cancer Research Fund, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, February 28, 2019. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Steven Spielberg’s film production company has acquired the rights to a soon-to-be published novel about the unlikely friendship between an Israeli father and a Palestinian father who each lost a daughter to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

“Apeirogon” by Colum McCann will be published by Random House on February 25. Its acquisition by Amblin Partners was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, which did not say what the company paid for the rights.

Apeirogon means a shape with a countably infinite number of sides. The novel, which tells the story of how the fathers turned their grief into activism, has been named a most anticipated book of 2020 by The New York Times.

“Steven Spielberg and his company have always operated at the cutting edge of storytelling,” the Dublin-born McCann, an international bestselling author, told the Hollywood Reporter. “Their work is fueled by a deep moral concern. They go to the core of the issues of our day. I’m delighted that the story of Rami and Bassam will be in their hands.”

Amblin co-financed and produced “1917,” which won three Oscars this week.