I still have a selection of Khalil Gibran’s books plucked out of my home library and by my bedside table over the last week. In a Dejavu moment, the next morning of getting the books, I get news from the Doha Film Institute that the second Ajyal Youth Film Festival will host the Middle East premiere of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet as its Closing Night Gala on December 6, 2014.

Considering that Khalil Gibran’s books have been on my bookshelves for years and I have only read them once, it was a surprise coincidence that I pick them up again the same week as the world premiere of the Salma Hayek-Pinault-produced film takes place.

My Literature Masters thesis is on genre transformation with a focus on books made into films. I used the case study of The English patient and for months, I was obsessed with the book and film…