Challenges of turning a novel into a film script

The Instituto Cervantes in Manchester and Leeds and the Embassy of Colombia in the United Kingdom organise the conversation between Colombian writer and screenwriter Jorge Franco and the Hispanist Professor H. Rosi Song (Durham University), who will talk about the challenges in the creative process of turning a novel into a film script.

Jorge Franco, born in Medellín, Colombia, studied Film Direction at the London International Film School and Literature at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Maldito amor was his first book of short stories and Mala noche his first novel, both of which received prestigious national awards. Rosario Tijeras, published in 1999, has enjoyed spectacular commercial success in Colombia and marked the breakthrough of one of the most promising writers of new Latin American narrative. It is the story of the love triangle between outlaw Rosario and two young men from Colombian high society. Terrorism, violence and narco-trafficking provide a fascinating background to the fast-paced plot. It was made into a major feature film, taking the Colombian box-office by storm with 1,500,000 movie- goers flocking to the big-screen within only two weeks of opening. Sony Pictures acquired TV and spin-off rights for this title. Paraíso travel (2002) solidly reaffirmed Jorge Franco’s reputation with the tale of a young Colombian couple who attempt to escape the widespread violence of their country of origin by fleeing to New York as illegal immigrants. Paradise Travel was recently made into a TV series by Sony Pictures. Melodrama (2006) is yet another contemporary story of “Colombians abroad” in Paris. He made an important comeback with the novel El mundo de afuera, winner of the Premio Alfaguara 2014, one of the most prestigious awards in the Spanish language. El cielo a tiros (2018) marks a milestone and perhaps is his most profound, accomplished work to date. It’s been translated into English, French, Italian and Turkish, and it is being adapted into a TV series.

H. Rosi Song holds a Chair in Hispanic Studies at Durham University. A specialist in 20^th and 21^st century Spanish culture and literature, she is the author of Lost in Transition: Constructing Memory in Contemporary Spain (Liverpool UP, 2016) and the co-editor of Traces of Contamination: Unearthing Francoist Legacy in Contemporary Spanish Discourse (Bucknell UP, 2005) and Towards a Cultural Archive of la Movida: Back to the Future (Farleigh Dickinson UP, 2013). She is one of the Series Editors for Culinaria, a new book series from the University of Toronto Press on Food Studies and serves on the editorial board for Toronto Iberic Series as well.