Bertha Bay-Sa Pan To Helm Adaptation Of Joan Bauer’s Bestseller ‘Hope Was Here’, Producing Alongside ‘Face’ Collaborator Derrick Tseng & Jackol Kao
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: The VOICE Creative and Slew Pictures have acquired feature film development rights to Joan Bauer’s bestselling novel Hope Was Here, with the latter’s founder Bertha Bay-Sa Pan gearing up to adapt it for the big screen.Hope Was Here tells the story of Hope, a 16-year-old waitress who is no stranger to hardships, heartaches, and betrayal.
With her aunt Addie, comfort food chef extraordinaire, she’s moved too much, but always hones her waitressing skills, impressing hungry people everywhere.
After losing their restaurant in Brooklyn, Hope and Addie leave the city they love to run a diner in rural Wisconsin, finding themselves in a town divided with real problems and corrupt politics.Hope’s waitressing has taught her to read people and instinct tells her to trust GT Stoop, the owner of the Welcome Stairways Diner, who has just ended chemo treatment for cancer by announcing that he’s running for mayor.
It’s a campaign between hope and fear as the teenagers in town have had enough and join the fight. Even without the right to vote at their young age, they have learned they have a voice and what they believe in matters.
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