{"id":18589,"date":"2022-02-08T15:29:24","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T01:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/?p=14542"},"modified":"2022-02-08T15:29:24","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T01:29:24","slug":"from-book-to-screen-polynesian-stories-adapted-to-cinema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/en\/from-book-to-screen-polynesian-stories-adapted-to-cinema\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFrom book to screen\u201d: Polynesian stories adapted to cinema"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you adapt a literary work to the screen? This is the purpose of the \u201cFrom book to screen\u201d project. Through workshops, ten budding screenwriters were able to benefit from the skills and expertise of a specialist in this genre to adapt Polynesian works for the cinema. We were able to attend the final workshop.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Attentive with their heads bent over their computers, eyes staring at their screens\u2026 Sitting at their desks in the Marama room of the House of Culture<\/strong>, The \u201cstudents\u201d of Franck Philippon, a distinguished screenwriter, are concentrating. It\u2019s time to take stock. Launched during the Salon du livre 2021<\/strong>, the \u201cThe \u201dFrom book to screen\u201d project<\/strong> The project is in the final phase of the process. After two workshops in November and December, it is time for the final workshop. The ten or so participants will share their screenplay with an internationally renowned professional, and together they will fine-tune the final details before the presentation. On Friday 11th February, they will have to pitch their script to a jury during a session at the FIFO from 11am to 1pm. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be easy, it\u2019s a challenge but Franck is preparing us. Now we\u2019re making the final adjustments: scene transitions, shots\u2026 Franck\u2019s experience helps us a lot,\u201d says Cynthia. The thirty-year-old chose to adapt one of Chantal Spitz\u2019s short stories, Postcards. The task is difficult but rewarding. She is not the only one to have chosen this author, who is well known to Polynesians. \u201cI really like her reputation which is direct and it\u2019s the first book that I read,\u201d explains Rehia. \u201cI was a bit afraid to adapt a short story by Chantal Spitz, but I hope I did it justice. The 23-year-old student chose the first story in Postcards. Thanks to the different sessions, he learned a method to draft his story. \u201cI realized that you need three acts, for example, setup, confrontation, resolution. This is a pattern that fits all stories, whether they are adventures or dramas.\u201d<\/p>\n

One film in five is an adaptation<\/strong>. In 2021, Gallimard walked up the steps of the 74th Cannes Film Festival nine times\u2026 According to a statistical study conducted by Livres Hebdo in May 2018, out of 731 films released in France during a year, nearly 20% are adaptations. So why not make the stories, voices and histories of Polynesia heard by adapting them to the big screen? This is the idea of the Tahiti and Islands Publishers Association and FIFO, in partnership with the ATPA and with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the SCELF and the CFC<\/strong>. An idea that has been an enormous success with the participants. \u201cI have always dreamed of doing a course in screenwriting. We were offered this opportunity and we are well aware of the value of this training with Franck\u201d, says Karine, a teacher by profession. The fifty-year-old, who is adapting Les savates de l\u2019homme heureux, an album of children\u2019s literature, embarked blindly on the adventure. Today, she is more enlightened on the subject. \u201cI had an idea of the narrative scheme and the protagonists, but now I understand the codes of audiovisuals. It\u2019s a form of writing that requires you to be visual. We are used to having a literary style of writing, whereas this requires more precision, to be more concise, to avoid anything redundant. You don\u2019t even need to be able to write well.\u201d Dan, in his forties, knew that he had to structure his script, an adaptation of Mourareau\u2019s M\u00e9ridien Z\u00e9ro. But he understood that he was like a cook who had to adapt, often personalize, a recipe to concoct an excellent dish. \u201cThe work sessions were very serious, I learned a lot, there was a lot of support\u201d, confides this former coder in the video game industry who is retraining. These workshops could quite well lead him towards new horizons\u2026 The finalized scenarios will be presented to a jury during the FIFO, which will choose the best adaptation. Afterwards, the execution of the selected project (depending on the production budget) will be coordinated by the ATPA. One of the participants will then see their project brought to the screen. The beginning of a new adventure.<\/p>\n