I watched with deep emotion the more than fifty short films made after my novel Occult Beds, and I am impressed above all by the attentive, intelligent, passionate reading they reveal. These are students from across the country, from some of the very best high schools.
In every single film, what stands out first is the attachment to the book, the depth of understanding, and the fact that literature was never betrayed for a moment—even though the festival places greater emphasis on cinematic achievement. All the films have a clear narrative structure, focus on essential details, and re-create the atmosphere of the novel.
These are readers. They are intellectuals—young people capable of cultural assimilation. Not once did they lower the flag in favor of small cinematic tricks. These are reading-experiments on film, built from details that form the very substance of fiction: yellowed pages, beds in flames, carefully selected lines of dialogue, and, above all, an extraordinary attention to epic construction and meaning.
They are the elite.
I have set myself the goal of visiting each of these schools and meeting all these remarkable students and their outstanding teachers. We deserve a separate film about this readers’ club that has entered the story itself :)
I send you my warmest thoughts and wish you a summer filled with dreams, book pages, and events worthy of your future fictions!
Here is the link to the 50 films, as well as the list of high schools where one or more teams created a film inspired by Occult Beds.
(followed by the list of schools)
With gratitude!
