Dakota Fanning to star as a woman who descends into insanity; Gerard Barrett to direct.

Dakota Fanning

David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment is to launch international sales on Brain On Fire at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin next week.

Gerard Barrett, whose Glassland was a hot property in the in the World Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, will direct from his own screenplay based on the bestselling memoir Brain On Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan.

The Canada-Ireland co-production stars Dakota Fanning as Cahalan, who took a sudden descent into insanity as the result of a mystery illness.

Garrett described the script as “a breathtaking account of a young woman’s nightmarish experience”.

Producers include Charlize Theron, Beth Kono and AJ Dix for Denver and Delilah Films as well as Rob Merilees for Foundation Features.

Principal photography on the film is scheduled to start in May of this year.  WME is handling domestic sales on the film.