Jeremy Podeswa on the set of Fugitive Pieces Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films

Although he has only directed a handful of films, Toronto native Jeremy Podeswa is one of the most productive directors around. In the wake of the critical acclaim that followed his second feature The Five Senses, in 1999, Podeswa completed a series of shorts before trying his hand at television. Now based primarily in Los Angeles, Podeswa quickly became one of the most sought-after TV directors, helming episodes of some high-profile cable series, including The L Word, Into the West, Nip/Tuck, Six Feet Under, Dexter, Carnivale and Rome. But Podeswa views directing television as a way for him to finance his own visions. He has said that while he enjoys working on these projects, they are not really his; they belong to other people's creative concepts. His latest project, Fugitive Pieces, is particularly close to his heart. It is based on the eponymous book by Canadian writer Anne Michaels, and Podeswa's adaptation opened the Toronto Film Festival with "a lot of hooplah, a lot of anticipation, a lot expectation."

Podeswa: This is my third feature and I have written both the films I have made before. This is my first adaptation from another medium but I think I kind of straddle both worlds and have consciously done so for a long time since I made my first feature about ten or eleven years ago. For me it is great because independent films take a while to nurture and bring into fruition. While I have been doing those things and raising money and writing and casting, I have been off directing very quality television — which has been great. I am working with a lot of creative people and great actors on good scripts.

It has really made me feel agile as a filmmaker and flexible and allowed me the opportunity to hold out to make the films that I wanted to make. And not make a feature film that I felt was compromised in some way, or that didn't insight much passion. So all three features I've made are things that I initiated and are things I really wanted to make very, very deeply. They are all very meaningful to me. Directing a lot of television has allowed me to do my own thing.

Rade Serbedzija and Robbie Kay in Fugitive Pieces Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films

Fugitive Pieces follows the story of Jakob Beer, a Polish Jew, who as a boy (played by Robbie Kay) witnesses the brutal slaying of his parents at the hand of the Nazis. He flees his village and hides in the nearby forest where he's found and smuggled out of Poland by Athos Roussos (Rade Serbedzija), an archaeologist who takes him to Greece. Later Athos accepts a post at a university in Toronto and the older Jakob (Stephen Dillane) follows. Haunted by his past and emotionally adrift, he turns to writing in order to find meaning in his life.

Podeswa: Fugitive Pieces is an incredible novel. I read it when it was just published. It is a really profoundly moving book. It was written by Anne Michaels who is a poet. She spent about ten years writing this novel. It is almost like a work of sustained poetry, and a work of sustained emotion. From the first page it grips you in a very deep place. It is an incredibly moving reading experience. I was just so touched by it. I thought if a work of prose could affect me so deeply, potentially as a movie it could affect a wide audience deeply as well. It was definitely a book of great ambition, and the movie would have to be something of great ambition but I thought: "That is something I could imagine spending a long time trying to make and not getting tired of."

Podeswa is Jewish and his father had lost his family during the German invasion of Poland and the resonances of the plot struck a deeply personal chord. So, despite the poetic nature of the original material, Podeswa did not find the adaptation to be very daunting. Author Anne Michaels was in fact invited onto the film's set several times and had some input into the script. However, since the film bowed at the Toronto Film Festival to mixed reviews, its ending has been altered to be more "inspirational." Michaels has described the changes as "controversial."

Podeswa: The poetic nature of her writing doesn't scare me because I think there is a poetic quality to filmmaking as well, potentially. It is not always exploited but there is one there. The fact that the book was full of beautiful images and beautiful language was something that was really appealing to me because I thought the potential to make a beautiful film from this is built into the material. And also, underneath all the poetry there is a very strong narrative spine. It is a very compelling story with very strong themes that I knew would resonate in a movie as well.