(11 June 2008 2:08 pm)

MUMBAI:Brazillian novelist Paulo Coelho and News Corp's MySpace is collaborating for user-generated film based on his latest novel "The Witch of Portobello," published by Harper Collins.

The movie will be created from MySpace video and music submissions by users. The project will be titled "The Experimental Witch".

The book consists of 15 narrators each interacting with and interpreting the lead character Athena. Coelho has invited filmmakers from across the world to submit their interpretational videos of each of these narratives to his MySpace account. Musicians are also invited to submit a general theme for the movie or themes for specific narrators.

Ultimately the submissions will be developed into a 52-minute TV movie by an editor. Coelho also made it clear that this web-generated project was completely different from studio projects like Weinstein Co. adapting "The Alchemist."

Material can be submitted in any language, though any film not in English, Portuguese, Spanish or French should include subtitles. Already 20 videos have been uploaded to Coelho's site prior to MySpace's official involvement.

"The Experimental Witch" submissions must be delivered by 25 July. An independent jury will determine winners, results will be revealed on 24 August.

Coelho will own the film and the distribution rights have not been set as yet. MySpace will be promoting the project in 20 countries.