Netflix has announced that award winning novel HELLO, Universe by Filipina American writer Erin Entrada Kelly will be adapted into a family film, according to the AsianJournal.
HELLO, Universe is a winner of the 2018 Newbery Award and is a story about the search for Virgil Salinas, a middle school aged Filipino boy who is stuck at the bottom of a well because of a bully. Off to find him are Virgil’s crush Valencia Somerset, self proclaimed psychic Kaori Tanaka, and her little sister Gen. Themes of friendship, bravery, and social isolation arise. Kelly often explores themes of isolation in her writing, a reflection of her upbringing in Louisiana, where she was the only Filipino kid in her community.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Public Library, Kelly said, “I want readers to know they aren’t alone. I want to encourage them to embrace their unique selves. And I want them to know that they don’t have to be perfect – they just have to be the best version of themselves.”
HELLO, Universe will be penned by Filipino American screenwriter and playwright Michael Golamco (Always Be My Maybe) and produced by Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi of Significant Productions.
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