FSE ask academies to recognise writers

The Federation of Scriptwriters in Europe (FSE), of which the Guild is a member, has written to European Screen Academies, including BAFTA, to ask them to formally commit to crediting scriptwriters when discussing or publicising films.

Here's an extract from the letter:

Screenwriters and the scripts that they write for European films and television hold a singularly paradoxical position within the film and television community.

While this community keeps touting the essential necessity and paramount importance of the script as a centrepiece and springboard of any cinematic endeavour, screenwriters and their work are the most consistently overlooked actors in the cinematic arena, when it comes to media coverage, academic debate, policy making or indeed any discussion of filmmaking in general.

In order to change this the FSE actively seeks the help and understanding of other players in the field of film and television.

An excellent example has been set by the European Film Academy, which listened to our plea and discussed the matter on board level - a discussion which resulted in the almost immediate decision by the board of the EFA to henceforth always mention the writers of the films selected and nominated by the Academy in their future publications and press releases, alongside the directors and production companies.

The purpose of this letter is to ask you to follow the example of the EFA and formally commit to crediting the writers of the films and television projects you deal with in your own important organizations.