Albert Serra and Bi Gan Debate Literary Adaptation and Why AI Will Never Have Innocence
Spanish filmmaker Albert Serra and Chinese auteur Bi Gan had only just met for the first time last month in Paris, but at the Shanghai International Film & TV Market the two directors sat down together as if they’d been arguing about literature for years.
The panel, “Stories Travel Further: Literature & Cinema in Spain-China Dialogue,” opened with short films by Carla Simón, Turbo and Nicolas Mendez and a presentation on Spanish literature’s cinematic potential from the Federation of Publishers’ Guilds of Spain.
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Serra, whose films draw on classic texts without treating them as blueprints, said the source material barely registers by the time he starts working.
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“I just used some means or some very basic ideas that everybody knows, and from that point of departure to create something on my own,” he said. “So in fact, to write a script with [literature’s] principle and to write a script based on a new idea, it’s not very different. The development of what you will do in the film, it’s totally new and creative.”
“I don’t care. I just want to do a good film, an original and personal film,” Serra added. “I think more about my own style and how to develop it.”
Bi took a gentler line on the subject, describing his relationship to literature as structural rather than reverential. “A film’s title is its face. I often use book titles from literature as film titles, giving the audience a perfect gateway into the story. Apart from that, [my films] incorporate many literary and even poetic structures, and that can set it apart from typical genre films, because its narrative threads, storytelling approach, and character development all adapt a poetic structure,” he said.
The two directors expressed admiration for each other’s work. Serra praised the use of poetry in Bi’s “Resurrection,” saying it could inspire people to think about images and use language differently. Bi said that watching Serra’s “Afternoons of Solitude” had given him a literature-like experience, because the narrative logic of the film was totally unexpected.
“His film structured literature in cinematic language, which is completely new and fresh to me,” said Bi. “I saw scenes of clouds, some of them could be a bit long, but actually it doesn’t feel dull.”
“Why did you want to adapt material that’s not your own?” Serra said. “You have to be respectful to the material somehow, because if not, you will create your own story. You will not adapt a story of somebody else just to destroy it, [that would be] like a narcissistic exercise that is stupid. But at the same time, you have to betray the original material in order to create your own story. You have to be brave.”
Serra went further: “I don’t see the point of doing the adaptation. So it’s for lazy people because they don’t want to figure out an original idea.”
“Literary adaptation has always been a crucial thread in the historical development of cinema,” said Bi. “Some films, like Serra’s ‘Honor of the Knights,’ manage to completely deconstruct the original text, which is an approach that I find very appealing. However, there were also many classic adaptations, including those with novelists joining in the project. During the Film Noir movement in Hollywood, literature became a major aesthetic event and symbol, ultimately pushing the boundaries of cinematic language.”
Both filmmakers also converged on a counterintuitive point: that mediocre source material often produces better films than great books do. “People with good books, they are too respectful to the book, so they are not free,” said Serra. “They feel inside a prison. The book is everything, so they want good things in all levels, artistic direction, photography, and script. But then, they don’t match, they don’t glue. With bad books, people is not so respectful, so they do whatever they want. It is not like making an adaptation, because they feel more free.”
Bi put the challenge plainly: “Adapting text to screen is a formidable task riddled with obstacles, making truly successful literary films exceedingly rare.”
“Try to forget,” said Serra. “Because if you don’t forget the other output, you have to create your own universe.”
Among the literary figures who had shaped him, Bi named Federico García Lorca, whose poetry he described as “brief and beautiful, as a small, soft outcry.” The influence, he said, was not always legible on the page of a script – but ran deeper, into questions of mortality and fear that had fundamentally shaped his sensibility.
Both directors pushed back on the notion that AI could open up filmmaking to everyone. Bi questioned the premise of human-AI communication itself. “Language is a huge fantasy itself. We thought that AI can make something based on whatever we put into it, but the miscommunication itself is unsolvable. Telling an AI to complete what you want it to complete has a natural contradiction within.”
“The only thing AI will never have is innocence, because AI is based on collecting data, and innocence is based upon deleting data,” said Serra. “Real artistic filmmakers are unpredictable because they destroy what everybody has done before to create something new. If you think about a new form with nothing in common with previous forms, you will always be ahead of AI.”
The Shanghai International Film & TV Market runs contiguously with the Shanghai International Film Festival.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price subsidising their life by livestreaming
Venezuela Fury and her husband Noah Price look to be making their own way in the world by raking it in from their lucrative social media accounts.
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year.
Since getting married and moving in together the couple have been earning thousands of pounds a month, livestreaming their life as newlyweds in their static caravan in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
And fans can't get enough of their regular life updates on TikTok and Kick, which have proved to be very profitable for the pair.
They look to be supporting themselves after Noah denied that he was given £5million by Venezuela's family as a wedding gift.
Despite his wife's huge family wealth, an estimated combined £160 million, Noah recently told his Kick followers that he 'pays for everything' for the couple.
Making light of the claims about Venezuela's millionaire financial status, Noah said: 'I actually pay for everything unfortunately. You'd expect the millionaire to pay for it wouldn't you.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price are earning thousands livestreaming their caravan life - after her new groom insisted he pays all the bills and denied he had £5m handout from her dad
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury , 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year
Venezuela then asked their fans: 'Do you think I am a millionaire?'
Noah joked: 'She isn't a secret millionaire guys', before she broke into song and sang: 'But I live like a millionaire!'
But it seems according to estimated calculations from their social media work, Noah and Venezuela can more than afford to support themselves.
Noah has been livestreaming on platforms such as Kick and TikTok, where viewers can send paid gifts or donations.
He was previously encouraging viewers to send gifts on his honeymoon during livestreams, suggesting this is one revenue stream.
Both Noah and Venezuela have built substantial followings on Instagram and TikTok. They can potentially earn money through sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links and creator payouts.
Kick allows its creators to take home 95 per cent of the £4.99 subscription cost that fans pay.
Streamers keep 100 per cent of direct tips and donations, minus minor standard payment processing fees.
It is unclear how many subscribers Noah currently has because this information is hidden, but he does have 7,200 followers which is publicly viewable.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million
In one video on their honeymoon, Noah asked his followers if they'd give them some more gifts now that they were married.
In a TikTok live viewed by 20,000 he said: 'Keep liking our videos people, keep sending gifts.'
After saying thank you to several of his followers he joked they should stick around on the livestream and 'watch Venezuela punch me in the mouth'.
The other half of the honeymooning couple said: 'I am, honestly!'
Noah previously confirmed that the pair don't share their finances after they were asked whether they have a shared bank account.
'She earns her money, I earn mine,' said Noah, as Venezuela joked: 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it.'
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'.
Meanwhile Venezuela is being eyed up by executives for a fly on the wall TV series.
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'
Boasting 1.3 million TikTok followers, Venezuela is already entertaining fans with her honest musings and candid moments, from cooking to kitting out her and Noah's static caravan home.
And following the success of the Netflix series At Home With The Furys, it is no wonder bosses are wanting to draw on the Fury popularity.
A TV insider said: 'The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.
'People are genuinely intrigued by them. Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor'.
'Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating,' they told The Sun.
It is thought Netflix would be likely to produce the series due to their already established relationship with the Furys.
Venezuela's representatives told The Daily Mail: 'We have many offers on the table regarding Venezuela which we are discussing.'
