Landmark new European Audiovisual Observatory report sheds light on working screenwriters and directors of film and TV/SVOD fiction
14 January 2025
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” – Aristotle.
The European Audiovisual Observatory report “Writers and directors of film and TV/SVOD fiction – 2015-2023 figures”, published in January 2025, provides a comprehensive overview of the 36,000 professionals involved in writing and/or directing theatrical films and TV/SVOD fiction from 2015 to 2023 in Europe. The report examines the relationship between four roles: theatrical film writers, theatrical film directors, TV/SVOD fiction writers and TV/SVOD fiction directors.
It marks a significant milestone as it represents the first European comparable set of data on the actual number of screenwriters and directors over such a period of time, offering valuable insights into the European audiovisual sector’s creative workforce.
The first section gives an overview on all active professionals. Approximately 70% fall into three main groups: writers working exclusively in film, writers working exclusively in TV/SVOD fiction, and professionals both writing and directing films only.
Over 22,000 professionals contributed to (co)writing or (co)directing at least one theatrical film between 2015 and 2023, with 44% working on projects they both (co)wrote and (co)directed. In contrast, more than 17,000 professionals were involved in (co)writing or (co)directing TV/SVOD fiction during the same period, but only 11% took on both roles for the same projects.
The second section focuses on the 29,000 writers who (co)wrote at least one theatrical film or TV/SVOD fiction. Nearly half of theatrical film writers only (co)wrote projects they also directed, whereas TV/SVOD fiction writers primarily worked on projects they did not direct.
Only 9% of writers worked in both film and TV/SVOD fiction during this period. Among active fiction writers specifically, this overlap increased slightly to 11%. Most theatrical film writers only worked on a single film, while TV/SVOD fiction writers typically contributed to two projects.
Lastly, approximately 18,000 directors (co)directed at least one theatrical film or TV/SVOD fiction between 2015 and 2023. While the number of active TV/SVOD directors has caught up with theatrical film directors annually, their total remains lower, as TV/SVOD directors tend to work more frequently.
About two-thirds of theatrical film directors only (co)directed films they also (co)wrote, whereas most TV/SVOD directors worked on projects they did not write. Only 10% of all directors were active in both film and TV/SVOD fiction during this period. However, TV/SVOD directors were more likely to work on films than film directors were to transition to TV/SVOD.
To go further:
Press release and full report: https://go.coe.int/8yJTm