21. April 1989
The Write Formula
“When it comes to getting credit for a film, the scriptwriter is left out. We´d like to change that.”
Quality television scripts are hard to find in West Germany but a new course for authors aims to change that, as Don Kirk reports.
Welcome to Munich, script-writing capital of Germany. As one of 10 young authors you will spend a year here fine-tuning your talent. You will discuss your trade with the best in the business. You will produce. You will create. You will learn the ropes."
This is what a group of West German scriptwriters will hear next month when they begin an experiment called Drehbuchwerkstatt München, Financed by the Bavarian Trade Ministry and organised by broadcaster Bayerischer
Rundfunk (BR), the workshop will give financialassistance to writers between the ages of 23 and 40, and should provide a fertile breeding ground for new scripts. "Script quality is hard to find in West Germany, and we'd like to change that," explains project co-ordinator Wolfgang Längsfeld.
Last October, Längsfeld sat down with a group of television executives and worked out the details. Nearly $300,000 has been set aside for the programme. It will last a year and only experienced authors are eligible. Classes in film theory will be held at the Munich Academy of Film and Television, and writers will get individual tutoring from West German film and television producers. But above all, the Werkstatt is to serve as a think-tank for new series and television dramas.
Peter Werner, executive producer at Bayerischer Rundfunk, is among project initiators. "We want to create a working atmosphere," Werner says. "Authors get theory at the academy and practical experience here. We're providing 50 per cent of the funding, but we're not doing it out of the kindness of our hearts. We want to give young authors a chance," he says. "But we'd like to find new talent forour-selves and this is a good way to do it."
Other network executives in West Germany are equally anxious. Horst Schering, head of Westdeutscher Rundfunk International (WDR International) in Cologne, says: "It's very important we improve a bad situation. We're very interested in seeing the Werkstatt work."
Schering's position as head of international purchases and sales at WDR makes him aware of problems peculiar to the West German market. The WDR has increased its international presence in recent years, but like other networks it has had problems finding the right material. "A good script is the basis of a successful film," Schering says, "and that's not easy to find. We've changed our policy as a result, WDR often commissions scripts, but it used to do them alone. Now, we'll carry the financial risk and let producers find their own authors."
Many a producer's search for good scriptwriters could end in Munich if the experiment is successful. The strategy behind the Werkstatt is international in substance and regional in tone. Those who are chosen will get advice from West German pedagogues and network professionals, but also first-hand instruction from foreign experts. According to Längsfeld, American scriptwriters Eugene Vale, Frank Daniel and Syd Field have announced their interest.
It was Längsfeld who suggested bringing in tutors from outside the country, but he denies wanting to Americanise German scripts. "What we expect," he says, "are new impulses and ideas. I'm convinced quality has a regional focus. People like Vale are wonderful film grammarians. They can transfer ideas. They give our writers a sense of structure — of expression. But in my book when it comes to creating a film, originality is a regional concept."
The conflict between regional and international focus is a dilemma facing many West German producers. According to Helmut Oiler, head of Munich's Academy of Film and Television (Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen — HFF), the atmosphere at the academy is changing. "The year 1992, and the start of the European home market, has its consequences for the film and television industry everywhere. Themes and content of scripts should have relevance beyond the national level."
Öller says scriptwriters at the Drehbuchwerkstatt will be trimmed for Europe, but he warns of producing what he calls the Euro-pudding. "You can't put all European cultures in a big pot and expect something good to come out of it," he says. Like Längsfeld, Oiler believes in the power of regional focus, but he admits a change in attitude towards international productions.
"Interest in producing for a European market is growing," Längsfeld says. "One proof of that is the large number of EC programmes which promote co-operation. That doesn't mean we can maintain the regional quality of material. Originality is important. If a film is good at a regional level it will be good at an international level,"
One EC programme Längsfeld says will aid the Drehbuchwerkstatt is the European Script Fund, Founded in Britain in 1988, the ESF provides £1,5 million financial aid for the pre-production and script-development of feature and television fiction, "We have good ties with the ESF. I'm sure we'll be using its help," says Längsfeld.
The Munich project does appear to qualify for ESF funding. Created in response to changes in the industry, Drehbuchwerkstatt will probably produce just the kind of scripts the ESF is looking for. Any project coming out of Munich is certain to be European material and aid the fight against imported soap operas and mini series.
Anna-Katerine Engel, one of the project supervisors, says the commercial function of the project is central to its success. "Writers at the workshop gain added help when it comes to selling what they produce," she says. "We set up the contacts. We tell them who's buying and how to sell once they are finished. Authors are not left to fend for themselves once the year is up."
Engel says the scope of the Drehbuchwerkstatt München goes far beyond anything done before: "This is the cream of the crop. Of 250 applicants we're choosing 10." Engel says the important thing is individual attention. "We're promoting an occupation, answering questions about the market, and making connections with networks."
"Many authors just don't want to write scripts," says Längsfeld. "When it comes to getting credit for a film or series, the scriptwriter is left out. The director is the star, or the actor, or the cameraman. We'd like to change that. We hope to instill a sense of pride in the people who come here."
