3rd World Conference of Screenwriters in Warsaw
The conference in Warsaw in October 2014 focused on writing for television and the incredible success of TV series all over the world. Prominent speakers and guild representatives discussed the impact of developments in international production and distribution models on craft, copyright and contracts, how the evolution of writers’ rooms has affected the careers of professional writers, and highlight the success of film and television in Poland and Scandinavia.
Chris Keyser, President of the Writers Guild of America, West concluded the conference with these words : « Great television is the work of great writers. And great writers are at their best when they are unhindered, when their work is unfiltered and undiluted (…) But whenever I speak to members of my own Guild, I remind them that we write alone, together. Within our own countries or across cultures, we are engaged in an extended written conversation – an endless typewritten braid – that, taken together, is a record of what it means to be human and alive in the 21st century. (…) And every once in a while, we get together in one room, to complain about how hard it is to do what we do – or to marvel at how much power we have to move the world ».
Participants adopted the Warsaw Resolution : “30 screenwriter guilds present in Warsaw at WCOS03, representing 56,000 writers, assert the essential role of the creator and his/her singular vision in the production of quality television (and) call for the financial means necessary through collective bargaining for all writers to be able to focus on their craft in order to support, encourage and preserve the professional quality of the stories the audience expects and deserves”. The participants also called “upon our commissioners, funders, studios, networks and broadcasters to set the goal of having 50% of scripts across genres and at every budget level written by women” through the Womens’ Resolution.