Andrea Yaryura Clark's "On a Night of a Thousand Stars"

Andrea Yaryura Clark grew up in Argentina amid the political turmoil of the 1970s until her family relocated to North America. After graduating from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service — including a year of study at the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires —and completing her MBA at York University (Toronto, Canada), she returned to Buenos Aires to reconnect with her roots. By the mid-1990s, many sons and daughters of the "Disappeared"—the youngest victims of Argentina’s military dictatorship in the 1970s —were coming of age and grappling with the fates of their families. She interviewed several of these children, and their experiences, not widely known outside Argentina, inspired her debut novel. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two sons and a spirited terrier.

Here Clark dreamcasts an adaptation of On a Night of a Thousand Stars:

On a Night of a Thousand Stars has two narratives. One takes place in Argentina during the 1970s and the other one unfolds in 1998, starting in New York but quickly moving to Argentina. A few characters appear in both stories. Ideally, I would want the same actor/actress to portray him/herself as a young twentysomething and later as a fortysomething. When thinking about whom to cast, I took the liberty of imagining a time machine that would make each person the appropriate age for the character.

Paloma Larrea, the main character in the 1998 story could be played by Paula Christensen, who read the audio version of the book (!), Anya Taylor-Joy or Nathalie Kelley.

Valentina Quintero, the main female protagonist of the 1970s narrative, could be played by Anya Taylor Joy, Cecilia Roth, Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Mia Maestro.

Santiago Larrea, the male protagonist in both threads, could be played by Javier Bardem Cruz, Juan Minujin, Antonio Banderas.

Franco Bonetti, a male protagonist in the 1998 thread, could be played by Ricardo Darin, Gael Garcia Bernal or Diego Luna.

Maximo Cassini, an important character in the 1970s story, could be played by Ernesto Alterio, Daniel Day Lewis, Alessandro Nivola.

Lila Larrea— Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman.

Grace Diaz — Berenice Bejo, Stephanie Beatriz.

It would be a dream come true to have any of the following directors take on the project. They are listed here along with a movie I found particularly moving and meaningful:

Alfonso Cuaron (Roma), Juan Jose Campanella (The Secret in their Eyes), Fernando Meirelles (The Motorcycle Diaries, The Two Popes), Pablo Larrain (No).

Music plays a huge role in my life and I would want Gustavo Santaolalla (Babel, The Motorcycle Diaries) to compose the score.

Visit Andrea Yaryura Clark's website.

--Marshal Zeringue