Film

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a bestselling allegorical novel about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who journeys from Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of treasure, discovering his "Personal Legend" and the importance of following his dreams along the way. The book, first published in 1988, is a global phenomenon known for its simple yet profound message about listening to one's heart, reading omens, and the universe conspiring to help you achieve your destiny.

Students were challenged to create a film adaptation that conveys the significance of characters, events, objects, setting, and language in a scene and relates it to themes in the novel.

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Why film?

The ubiquitousness and power of artificial intelligence forces us to rethink our purpose and potential as human beings, and it also forces a reckoning with the norms and assumptions on which we have based our social systems. Education, as a social system, is not immune to this reckoning, and in many ways this reckoning is long overdue.

My answer to the question of “Why assign a film project?” can be broken down into three separate assertions of purpose and potential.

Literature is a creative art form, using language to engage our imagination and our souls and move us in profoundly meaningful ways. In his essay “What Does Art Do?” Vid Simoniti explains that art is a form of thinking that is “not based on a clash of positions,” but rather, is an “open ended space of thought, where oppositionality temporarily ceases.” Through language, literature allows us to imagine worlds, ideas, possibilities, and perspectives.

Adapting a literary work to film is a complex, multisensory feat of interpretation that requires intellectual rigor, collaboration, attention to detail, problem solving, humanity, and artistic vision. It engages the entire brain, and requires a nuanced understanding of the literary text.

Film production is both challenging and fun, and the experience is unforgettable, leaving students with a greater appreciation for the artistry of a literary work and for the arts in general. It even creates opportunities to discuss literature with friends and family members who haven’t read the book, inspiring others to read, write and discuss literature. It brings people and communities together in ways that enhance our appreciation for literature and life.