Download “Writers and directors of film and TV/SVOD fiction - 2015-2024 figures”

A new edition of the “Writers and directors of film and TV/SVOD fiction” report has just been published by the European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The report analyses almost 39 000 writers and directors involved in theatrical films and TV/SVOD fiction produced in Europe between 2015 and 2024.

Key findings from this new report:

• Impressive turnover, and great precarity, particularly among theatrical film professionals.
• TV/SVOD fiction provides more jobs than theatrical films, but for a smaller number of professionals.
• Bridges between the TV/SVOD and theatrical film sectors.
• Persistence of the ‘film d’auteur’ model for European films.

Impressive turnover, and great precarity, particularly among theatrical film professionals

In every year of the period studied, around 50% of active theatrical film directors were directing their debut film, suggesting a significant turnover in the industry. In fact, 43% of the film writers and 41% of the  film directors in 2015 were never credited with a new film or TV project afterwards.

The situation is very different for TV/SVOD fiction, where 85% of writers and 91% of directors in 2015 continued to work afterwards.

What happened to the 2015 directors?

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

TV/SVOD fiction provides more jobs than theatrical films, but for a smaller number of professionals

Between 2015 and 2024, more theatrical films were produced in Europe than TV/SVOD projects, but they involved fewer writers and directors. Nearly two-thirds of writing jobs came from TV/SVOD fiction. TV/SVOD jobs were also proportionally distributed among fewer active professionals than film jobs, implying more recurrence. This translates into a very different level of activity between the two content categories: between 2015 and 2024, writers worked on an average 1.5 theatrical films vs 3.3 TV/SVOD films or seasons.

Number of writing jobs for theatrical films and TV/SVOD fiction in Europe between 2015 and 2024

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

 
Bridges between the TV/SVOD and theatrical film sectors 

Only 11% of all writers and directors worked on both theatrical films and TV/SVOD fiction projects between 2015 and 2024, suggesting that professionals were mostly specialized. However, a large proportion (42%) of TV/SVOD fiction directors active in that same period have also directed at least one theatrical film at some point in their career.

Repartition of all active writers and directors for theatrical film and TV/SVOD fiction in Europe between 2015 and 2024
 

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

Persistance of the 'film d'auteur' model for European films

Between 2015 and 2024, 63% of theatrical film directors only directed films that they had also written. There were relatively few jobs for ‘standalone’ writers: only 52% of theatrical film screenwriting jobs were allocated to writers who were not also directing the project in question. 

This ‘film d’auteur’ model only applies to European production of theatrical films; for TV/SVOD fiction works, the roles of writer and director are mostly separate. 

Proportion of directors who only directed films they wrote, in theatrical films and TV/SVOD in Europe between 2015 and 2024
 

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory

 Meet the author - Elisa Joliveau-Breney, Film Analyst, Department for Market Information