Damon D’Oliveira and Clement Virgo of Toronto’s Conquering Lion Pictures (Brother) have secured film and television rights to Catherine Hernandez’s upcoming novel Behind You, slated for publication on May 7.

Hernandez, the bestselling author of Scarborough, will adapt her own novel for the big screen.

Behind You is the follow-up to her national bestseller, The Story of Us. It follows a Filipina woman in two different times of her life — one as a young girl growing up in Scarborough while a serial rapist is on the loose, and another as an adult watching her teenage son’s dangerous behaviour toward his girlfriend.

The deal was negotiated by Samantha Haywood of Transatlantic Literary Agency and D’Oliveira on behalf of Conquering Lion Pictures.

The author’s first novel, Scarborough, won the Jim Wong-Chu Award for the unpublished manuscript and was a finalist for Canada Reads 2022. Hernandez wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation, produced by Compy Films and distributed by levelFILM. It was the first runner-up for the coveted People’s Choice Award at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, and was nominated for 11 Canadian Screen Awards – winning eight, including Best Motion Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

“Catherine has crafted an unapologetic story that explores timely themes in an astonishingly fresh voice,” said Virgo and D’Oliveira in a joint statement.

Pictured (L-R): Catherine Hernandez (photo by Noor Khan), Damon D’Oliveira (photo by  David Vilder) and Clement Virgo (photo by Eli Ade)