The body’s fresh figures find that over 22,500 writers and over 15,000 directors were involved in the production of European theatrical and TV/SVOD fiction between 2015 and 2021

(left to right) Baran bo Odar, Isabel Coixet and Paolo Sorrentino

Yesterday 13 June, the European Audiovisual Observatory published a new report titled “Writers and directors of film and TV/SVOD fiction 2015-2021 figures.” The study, authored by Gilles Fontaine, is based on the information collected by the Observatory’s LUMIERE database (for theatrical films) and the annual survey of the Observatory (for TV/SVOD fiction works).

First, the report finds that over 22,500 writers and over 15,000 directors were involved in the production of European theatrical and TV/SVOD fiction between 2015 and 2021. Moreover, over 50% of European TV/SVOD fiction directors also directed at least one theatrical film.

On the whole, the study identified a higher degree of resilience for TV/SVOD assignments, since the COVID-19 crisis had a much greater impact on theatrical film assignments than TV/SVOD fiction assignments. The number of active TV/SVOD fiction writers significantly increased between 2015 and 2019 and remained almost stable during the 2021-2021 COVID-19 years (3847 in 2019, 3789 in 2021). Meanwhile, 14,200 different writers (co)wrote at least one theatrical film between 2015 and 2021. The number of active writers increased slightly between 2015 and 2019 (from 2,739 to 2,948) and predictably decreased during the pandemic, plummeting to a total 1,955 active writers in 2021.

Next, the report highlights an intense turnover between writers and directors. Specifically, theatrical film writers penned on average 1.3 films between 2015 and 2021 and TV/SVOD fiction writers participated on average in 1.9 TV films or TV series, whilst theatrical film directors helmed on average 1.3 films between 2015 and 2021 and TV/SVOD fiction directors participated on average in 2.2 TV films or TV series.

Another key trend sees a significant share of writers and helmers moving from film to TV fiction. From 2015-2021, TV/SVOD fiction writers (33%) and directors (58%) have at some point also penned or helmed a theatrical film.

That being said, the Observatory confirms that the so-called ‘film d’auteur’ model remains dominant in European film as close to half of writers active between 2015 and 2021 wrote only films they directed. Furthermore, close to 59% of directing credits were combined with a writer credit for the same film. The model is radically different for TV/SVOD fiction where most writers (92%) wrote for projects they did not direct. 

The full document is available here.