Toronto prodco BentFrame Film & TV has acquired dramatic rights to Canadian author Heather Marshall’s bestselling novel Looking for Jane, with a TV adaptation currently in development with Cineflix Studios.

Celeste Parr (Ethel) is attached as a creator and showrunner of the series, with BentFrame Film & TV founder Adrienne Mitchell as lead director and executive producer.

Hayley Steed and Hannah Ladds at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency brokered the deal with BentFrame on behalf of Marshall (pictured).

Looking for Jane addresses the topic of abortion through the stories of three women in 1971, 1980, and 2017, and is inspired by the real-life Jane Collective, which provided access to safe but illegal abortions in the 1960s and ’70s.

The novel was first published in Canada on March 1, 2022, and has since been published in several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., France, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Sweden, South Africa, and Brazil, among others.

Sonia Hosko and Brett Burlock are executive producers on the TV adaptation for Cineflix Studios, while BentFrame’s Zach Marcovici is a producer.

BentFrame TV & Film was founded in 2022 in partnership with Cineflix Media following its acquisition of Coroner prodco Back Alley Films, which was previously co-owned by Mitchell and Janis Lundman.

The partnership gives Cineflix first option rights to BentFrame’s original IP and development support from Cineflix Studios, as well as first-look rights for distribution arm Cineflix Rights.

“From our first meeting, it was clear that Adrienne and Zach had the passion and experience needed to bring this story to the screen, and I was so pleased when I learned they had brought on Celeste as showrunner and screenwriter,” said Marshall in a statement.

Mitchell added that Looking for Jane is an example of BentFrame’s goal to tell “powerful stories from unique perspectives which cast fresh insight on history and the many lived experiences we share… [Looking for Jane] shines a light on what might be history to some, but remains for many women a battle that is still being fought.”

Parr is represented by The Characters Talent Agency and Thruline Entertainment, Marshall is represented by Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency, and BentFrame Film & TV is represented by Great North Artists Management.

Photo of Heather Marshall by Amanda Kopcic