Paulo Coelho: The Pilgrim
Phil Cartwright: Your Parents had a different Idea, they tried to push you towards engineering?
Paulo Coelho: “That was a very difficult moment of my life, but it prepared me like the Jesuit school because of the ordeals. When they realized I did not want to attend the University, because it was enough to study at the Jesuit school for many years, they thought I went crazy, and that I had nothing, so they put me in a mental institution, because I said that I was not going to cope with their ideas but I would live my dreams. So I was institutionalized not only once but three times. At the hospital, I understood that it was not a bad thing because I understood that my parents wanted to help me towards a safest path. From the moment I was considered a crazy person I could do anything in life. I could not run for president, of course, but I had no interest in politics. So I said, ‘Now that I am mad and crazy and officially considered to be a person who is crazy, I am free to do anything I wanted. It was an inner freedom I took advantage of.”
Paulo Coehlo as The Pilgrim
The Pilgrim – Paulo Coelho’s Best Story is the international title for the Brazilian film “Não Pare na Pista” that tells the amazing true story of Paulo Coelho’s life. Paulo is a writer of tales enjoyed by millions of people all over the world. The author of spiritual classics such as The Alchemist and The Pilgrimage, he flirted with death, escaped from madness, experimented with drugs, overcame torture, suffered for love and made rock-and-roll history in Brazil. A co-production between Brazil’s Dama Filmes, led by Carolina Kotscho and Iôna de Macedo, and Angélica Huete’s Babel Films in Spain, the movie has been directed by Daniel Augusto.
Ravel and Júlio Andrade play the young and old Coelho, and other cast members include international names such as Fabiana Gugli, Nancho Novo and Paz Vega. Those working on the film include Pedro Almodovar’s regular art director Antxón Gómez and Oscar-winning make-up artists Montse Ribé and David Marti.
