How do you adapt a literary work to the screen? This is the purpose of the « From book to screen » 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.
Attentive with their heads bent over their computers, eyes staring at their screens… Sitting at their desks in the Marama room of the Maison de la Culture, the « students » of Franck Philippon, a distinguished scriptwriter, are concentrating. It’s time to take stock. Launched during the Salon du livre 2021, the « From book to screen » project is at 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. « It’s not going to be easy, it’s a challenge but Franck is preparing us. Now we’re making the final adjustments: scene transitions, shots… Franck’s experience helps us a lot, » says Cynthia. The thirty-year-old chose to adapt one of Chantal Spitz’s short stories, Postcards. The task is difficult but rewarding. She is not the only one to have selected this author, who is well known to Polynesians. « I really like her reputation which is direct and it’s the first book that I read,” explains Rehia. “I 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. « I realised that you need three acts, for example, set-up, confrontation, resolution. This is a pattern that fits all stories, whether they are adventures or dramas.”
One film in five is an adaptation. In 2021, Gallimard walked up the steps of the 74th Cannes Film Festival nine times… 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. An idea that has been an enormous success with the participants. « I 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 », says Karine, a teacher by profession. The fifty-year-old, who is adapting Les savates de l’homme heureux, an album of children’s literature, embarked blindly on the adventure. Today, she is more enlightened on the subject. « I had an idea of the narrative scheme and the protagonists, but now I understand the codes of audiovisuals. It’s a form of writing that requires you to be visual. We’re used to having a literary style of writing, whereas this requires more precision, to be more concise, to avoid anything redundant. You don’t even need to be able to write well.” Dan, in his forties, knew that he had to structure his script, an adaptation of Mourareau’s Méridien Zéro. But he understood that he was like a cook who had to adapt, often personalise, a recipe to concoct an excellent dish. « The work sessions were very serious, I learned a lot, there was a lot of support », confides this former coder in the video game industry who is retraining. These workshops could quite well lead him towards new horizons… 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.
INTERVIEW / Three questions for scriptwriter and producer Franck Philippon
A regular at the FIFO, he has led screenwriting workshops at the festival for four years. As a screenwriter and producer, he has lent his talent to young screenwriters in training. A screenwriter since 1997, he divides his time between the cinema, for which he has written three films, and television, for which he has created eight series (La Crim’, No Limit, Mirage, Maison Close, Renaissance, etc.). He regularly conducts training courses in various schools and institutions.
You started with Polynesian works; did you make any discoveries?
I have read most of the books, I know many authors. But there were a lot of books I didn’t know that I was delighted to discover. There is a range of works, from children’s books to adult books, from short stories to novels… They made their choice, and it was interesting to let them take over a book to express something that reflects them. To make an adaptation that is both faithful to the book and into which they inject their vision so that it becomes personal. That’s what’s interesting for me as a tutor because it’s a perspective on the world that is not mine.
What are the keys to a good script?
Having a good character and putting them in an interesting confrontation, which they have to get out of. When you start from a book, the advantage is that the story is in the book, so the material is already there. So, you don’t have to invent your own story but adapt it, so it’s less complicated. Afterwards, you must structure it so that it resembles a screenplay, knowing that drafting a book is not the same as writing a screenplay, they are not the same methods and tools. So, you must know how to analyse what is exploitable in the book to transcribe it into a screenplay.
What is the outcome of this course?
The aim was to give them the technical tools to write a script and tell a story in audiovisual form. Then they had to apply them to the writing of a short film adapted from a book to come up with a finished script so that they could follow through with the exercise. In most of the projects, I think there are some very nice scripts. Most of them have taken the chosen works and made them their own. I do not doubt that they will manage to complete their scripts. I think there is a wide range but overall, very successful. They have worked very well.
Written by Sulianne Favennec
French