Berlin, 13. November 2025.
The Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE) and the German Screenwriters’ Association (DDV) are hosting the first European Screenwriters’ Day in Berlin on 13 November. Over one hundred participants, authors and associations’ representatives from around twenty nations will spend a day discussing topics that are particularly pressing for European screenwriters, including the threat to civil liberties, the instability of democratic structures and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence for copyright law.
The rise of anti-democratic movements in many European countries is increasingly worsening the political conditions for telling audiovisual fictional stories. How can audiovisual storytelling be protected from political appropriation? What content and quality standards can help to promote the preservation of pluralism and democracy? And are screenwriters working under the conditions of increasingly volatile democracies immune to self-censorship?
Generative AI, the technological disruption of the film and television industry, also poses fundamental challenges for fictional storytelling. The lack of legal regulations leads to legal uncertainties, and the absence of rules and guidelines complicates cooperation between authors and their contractual partners. International solutions are therefore urgently needed, especially with regard to transparency, labelling and licensing options.
“In times of growing technological and political challenges for Europe, screenwriters also have a growing responsibility to strengthen democracy with the help of their cinematic narratives and to defend their artistic freedom – as well as their economic existence based on intellectual property. The European Screenwriters’ Day sends an important signal of solidarity in this regard,” concludes Carolin Otto (FSE President, DDV member).
PROGRAMME
RIGHT TO WRITE Screenwriters and the growing threats to Freedom of Artistic Expression in Europe
Keynote and presentation of the FSE report by David Kavanagh, former FSE executive officer and Carolin Otto, FSE president
DEMOCRACY AT STAKE How Writers Fight Fascism, Algorithms, and (Self-) Censorship
Moderation: David Kavanagh
With the participation of Francesca Massaro, screenwriter, vice-president of the Writers Guild of Italy; Maciej Sobczyk, screenwriter, chair of the Polish Screenwriters’ Guild; Marianne Wendt, screenwriter, member of DDV, Writers Guild of Germany
COPYRIGHT AND AI To Consent or to Submit – In Full Transparency? What Concrete Tools Remain for Screenwriters?
Keynote by Denis Goulette, FSE general delegate and Jan Herchenröder, General Manager of DDV, Writers Guild of Germany
Panel moderation: Denis Goulette
With the participation of Stefanie Eisenschenk, screenwriter, member of the board of DDV, Writers Guild of Germany; Josep Gatell, screenwriter and vice-president of ALMA – Spain; Victor Hedvall, legal counsel of the Writers Guild of Sweden; Ellie Peers, general secretary of WGGB – the Writers Guild of Great Britain
The European Screenwriters Day is an event organized by the FSE in cooperation with the DDV, with the kind support of VG Wort.