Adapting a Maltese poem into an animated short film

Abstract

Throughout history, literature and poetry have been adapted and translated into various media and art forms. Different artists have taken their own spin on how to adapt a piece of poetry, adapting it into still images, plays and music. The relatively more recent medium of film has also taken an interest in adapting poetry and with this interest came the creation of the genre of film known as poetry films. This research project is focused on learning about poetry films and the different elements of film including timing, colour and other elements. This dissertation focuses on the theory behind film and looks at different artists of influence. The dissertation also discusses how my practice research component has been located within a theoretical framework and how what I learnt has been applied to my own animated poetry film. The film is based on the Maltese poem ‘In-Nannu l-Aħmar’ written by my grandfather. This research project aspires to learn more about the medium of film and animation, discovering how these two intertwine while learning on adapting literature and text into visuals. The end-product being an animated poetry film created by myself