Ariana Godoy confesses about the adaptation of “Through my window” and her new vampire saga

“I had not seen it as an achievement because sometimes we tend to minimize our work”confess Ariana Godoy after a few months full of surprises. In February 2022, he premiered “through my window”, the film adaptation that Netflix made of his eponymous book published in wattpad and that currently accumulates more than 371 million readings. A success among the youth literature audience and a dream come true for the Venezuelan author who has been writing on the platform since 2009. Faced with the great uproar caused by her stories on the internet, the young woman came to our country to present her seventh book brought to the role with Penguin Random House “The Revelation”, a vampire story that seeks to achieve the success of the Hidalgo brothers’ trilogy.

To understand more about the phenomenon that her stories have caused and, in turn, led her to the streaming giant, Ariana Godoy sat down to talk with Skip Intro of El Comercio during his first day in Lima that began his tour of the region. is the first thing he says to us after greeting us.

The young woman remembers that she began as one of the readers within this -until then little explored- free platform called Wattpad. In order to learn more stories about vampires (because she was enchanted by “Twilight”), Godoy immersed herself in this service. “I realized that the people who published there did not need a certificate that they were a writer, so I said ‘I will publish too’”. Determined to create her own book, Ariana began writing in notebooks (which her mother still has). It was there that she began the whole adventure that would continue to strengthen more than a decade later.

“I realized that the people who published there did not need a certificate that they were a writer, so I said ‘I will publish too’”

What Wattpad writers usually like, according to the Venezuelan author, is the possibility that it gives her to receive “feedback” from readers through comments. Maybe it even helps them take a new direction for the story; unlike what authors experience when publishing directly on paper. “I love it because I can interact. I can see what they liked, what they didn’t like, the comments, the votes, there’s that ‘feedback’ that normally doesn’t exist in the industry”he added.

In short, the story that has been most successful among its readers is that of “Through my window”, which took him about two years to finish. Although it is a fictional romance; and unlike what one might think, the story of Raquel and Ares is inspired by a personal experience of Ariana Godoy. When she was still living in Venezuela and going to university, the young woman had a neighbor who also stole her internet.

“It was just as the story began (from ‘Through my window’). He stole my wifi and we started an ‘enemies to lovers’ (literary cliché of enemies to lovers). It was a very childish love, I was super young. I literally had to move to get over it”, remember between laughs. “I said ‘I’m going to take this experience and write it down in a book.’ I was surprised that many people felt identified with those loves that are unilateral “he added.

“Through my window” to the screen

In April 2021, the streaming giant Netflix announced the start of filming for its original film “Through my window”, Based on the homonymous book written by Ariana Godoy and directed by the Catalan Marçal Forès. The Venezuelan writer was immersed in the production of the feature film and she was very excited to learn that her characters Raquel Mendoza and Ares Hidalgo would come to life thanks to Spanish actors Clara Galle and Julio Peña, respectively. Finally, the film arrived on the platform on February 4, 2022.

“Those moments where one reaches these achievements, make you see where you started and how you were at the beginning. I also ‘stealed’ the internet because I didn’t have it. I think that puts it very into perspective that ‘wow, out of all this long work of so much time, something good came out.’ Every time I have an achievement, I remember Arianita who would go by bicycle to her friend’s house to steal the internet so that she would let her upload the chapter on Wattpad, ”she confessed.

Like any other writer, Ariana Godoy already had an image in mind of what her characters would be like physically. But, after meeting Clara and Julio, she still felt a kind of ‘shock’; although she, seeing the chemistry of both actors on the screen, she knew that her story was in good hands in terms of interpretation. “I saw the scene in the cemetery, where Julio grabs her necklace and everything. The chemistry they had, Clara’s clumsiness, they do it very well ”.

“From the beginning I knew that they had a lot of chemistry and really that They’re not only great actors, they’re also great people, they’re super sweet. Every time I talk to them it really gives me a lot of emotion. I saw the movie (‘Through my window’) many times before its release (in February 2022) and I love it”, he pointed.

The sequel opens in June

After the premiere of “Through my window”, the tape managed to accumulate more than 68 million views in its first two weeks on Netflix. Likewise, it was ranked in the Top 10 of the most watched movies on the platform. Faced with the success of the launch of the story of Raquel and Ares, the streaming giant opted to continue with the sequel, which is entitled “Across the Sea” and opens this June 23. “The decision was made that we are going to continue the story of Ares and Raquel, but we are also going to have the brothers to explore the whole world”.

In this next film, in addition to the already known cast, new faces will be added such as the Mexican Andrea Chaparro (“Rebelde”) and the Spanish Carla Tous (“Christmas Days”) and Iván Lapadula (“Isaac”). “I’m very excited, I hope I can be there for the premiere this time because I couldn’t be there for the first one either. I missed a lot of things, so now I’m updating myself. But hey, this 2023 I hope it can be done. It’s on my dream list. Also, I think adding new characters is very interesting for the story”said.

As Netflix revealed a while ago, “Across the Sea” will not be the last audiovisual installment by the Hidalgo brothers, written by Ariana Godoy: there will be a third film on Netflix. Despite the fact that there is still no official title, the writer confessed to us that she is also being involved in writing the script because (as with “Through the Sea”) there is not a specific book to adapt to the screen because each one of the books in the trilogy covers one of the three brothers in the Hidalgo family. “What we have done is also explore the secondary characters, give them more time and everything, because the other two books are about the brothers of Ares: Artemis and Apollo”.

What are the other projects in mind?

Faced with the option she has had to bring her stories to the screen, Ariana Godoy has already defined that, if she is offered the opportunity to make a “La Revelación” project, this would be a series; Although, she still doesn’t know which actors could bring her characters to life. “I don’t think a movie covers so many things like conflicts, fights, romance and action. I also think it would be very good, as well as a series like ‘The Vampire Diaries’”.

Another of the goals that she has set for herself in her career as a writer is to have a ‘comic’ (comic strip) of some of her seven books published in print. But, the first on the list is the story of “Follow my voice”. “I have it in mind, I already know how each painting is going to be because I often see the illustrations in the books and they are very beautiful. I would love to see a story of mine in a type of ‘webtoon’, that is one of my pending dreams that I still have”, finished Ariana Godoy.

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