My Salinger Year

While working for literary agent Phyllis Westberg, aspiring writer Joanna Rakoff receives personal advice from reclusive author J.D. Salinger.

New York in the 90s: After leaving graduate school to pursue her dream of becoming a writer, Joanna (Margaret Qualley) gets hired as an assistant to Margaret (Sigourney Weaver), the stoic and old-fashioned literary agent of J. D. Salinger. Fluctuating between poverty and glamour, she spends her days in a plush, wood-panelled office -- where dictaphones and typewriters still reign and agents doze off after three-martini lunches -- and her nights in a sink-less Brooklyn apartment with her socialist boyfriend. Joanna's main task is processing Salinger's voluminous fan mail, but as she reads the heart-wrenching letters from around the world, she becomes reluctant to send the agency's impersonal standard letter and impulsively begins personalizing the responses. The results are both humorous and moving, as Joanna, while using the great writer's voice, begins to discover her own.

While working for literary agent Phyllis Westberg, aspiring writer Joanna Rakoff receives personal advice from reclusive author J.D. Salinger.

Full Cast & Crew

Directed by

  • Philippe Falardeau

Writing Credits

  • Philippe Falardeau .. (written by)
  • Joanna Smith Rakoff .. (based on the book by) (as Joanna Rakoff)

Cast

  • Margaret Qualley .. Joanna
  • Sigourney Weaver .. Margaret
  • Douglas Booth .. Don
  • Seana Kerslake .. Jenny
  • Brian F. O'Byrne .. Hugh
  • Colm Feore .. Daniel
  • Theodore Pellerin .. Boy from Winston-Salem
  • Yanic Truesdale .. Max
  • Hamza Haq .. Karl
  • Leni Parker .. Pam
  • Ellen David .. Placement Agent
  • Romane Denis .. Girl Who Wants an A
  • Tim Post .. J.D. Salinger
  • Gavin Drea .. Mark
  • Matt Holland .. Clifford Bradbury
  • Xiao Sun .. Lisa
  • Andy Bradshaw .. Veteran
  • Christine Lan .. Vietnamese Girl
  • Andres Romo Salido .. Mexican Worker
  • Arthur Holden .. Dean
  • Suzanna Lenir .. Grieving Woman
  • Danny Gilmore .. Father
  • Hayley Kezber .. Rachel Cusk
  • Lise Roy .. Helen
  • Gillian Doria .. Judy Blume
  • Mariya Monakhova .. Polish Woman (as Maria Monakhova)
  • Catherine Kidd .. Poet
  • Samantha Hodhod .. Office Assistant
  • Elana Dunkelman .. Office Assistant (as Elana Dunkleman)
  • Alexandre Dubois .. New Yorker Guy
  • Raphael Grosz-Harvey .. New Yorker Guy
  • Robert Higden .. Bookkeeper
  • Jonathan Dubsky .. Jenny's Boyfriend
  • Guillaume Martineau .. Pianist
  • Carlo Mestroni .. Hotel Doorman
  • Sylvia Stewart .. New Yorker Receptionist

Produced by

  • Naima Abed .. executive producer
  • Hussain Amarshi .. executive producer
  • Ruth Coady .. co-producer
  • Luc Dery .. producer
  • Philippe Falardeau .. executive producer
  • Emilie Georges .. executive producer
  • Celine Haddad .. executive producer: Fis Eireann/Screen Ireland
  • Elaine Hebert .. associate producer: micro_scope
  • Jess Magee .. line producer: New York
  • Kim McCraw .. producer
  • Susan Mullen .. co-producer
  • Claude Paiement .. line producer
  • Joanna Smith Rakoff .. executive producer (as Joanna Rakoff)
  • Mary Jane Skalski .. executive producer