Manchester University Press Screenwriters in French Cinema

Screenwriters have been central figures in French cinema since the conversion to sound. But as Jean\-Claude Carrière has observed, they generally operate in the shadows, with little critical recognition and inadequate financial remuneration. From the New Wave onwards, a focus on directors as auteurs has led to the side\-lining of screenwriters, who are more likely to be blamed for a screenplay crisis than celebrated as cineastes in their own right. This is the first English\-language study to address screenwriters in French cinema. It takes a diachronic approach, looking at case studies drawn from the early sound period to the present day, in order to offer an alternative historiography of French cinema that highlights the collective and contingent aspects of film production. The writers examined range from major figures of the classic period such as Jacques Prévert and Henri Jeanson to the pioneering screenwriter\-directors of the New Wave and leading voices of recent contemporary cinema, notably Laurent Cantet, Abdellatif Kechiche, Noémie Lvovsky, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Maïwenn. Offering new insights into the vexed question of film authorship, this ground\-breaking study will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students of French film and screenwriting. From the Inside Flap Screenwriters have been central figures in French cinema since the conversion to sound. But as Jean-Claude Carrière has observed, they generally operate in the shadows, with little critical recognition and inadequate financial remuneration. From the New Wave onwards, a focus on directors as auteurs has led to the side-lining of screenwriters, who are more likely to be blamed for a screenplay crisis than celebrated as cineastes in their own right.This is the first English-language study to address screenwriters in French cinema. It takes a diachronic approach, looking at case studies drawn from the early sound period to the present day, in order to offer an alternative historiography of French cinema that highlights the collective and contingent aspects of film production. The writers examined range from major figures of the classic period such as Jacques Prévert and Henri Jeanson to the pioneering screenwriter-directors of the New Wave and leading voices of recent contemporary cinema, notably Laurent Cantet, Abdellatif Kechiche, Noémie Lvovsky, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Maïwenn.Offering new insights into the vexed question of film authorship, this ground-breaking study will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students of French film and screenwriting. From the Back Cover Screenwriters have been central figures in French cinema since the conversion to sound. But as Jean-Claude Carrière has observed, they generally operate in the shadows, with little critical recognition and inadequate financial remuneration. From the New Wave onwards, a focus on directors as auteurs has led to the side-lining of screenwriters, who are more likely to be blamed for a screenplay crisis than celebrated as cineastes in their own right. This is the first English-language study to address screenwriters in French cinema. It takes a diachronic approach, looking at case studies drawn from the early sound period to the present day, in order to offer an alternative historiography of French cinema that highlights the collective and contingent aspects of film production. The writers examined range from major figures of the classic period such as Jacques Prévert and Henri Jeanson to the pioneering screenwriter-directors of the New Wave and leading voices of recent contemporary cinema, notably Laurent Cantet, Abdellatif Kechiche, Noémie Lvovsky, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Maïwenn. Offering new insights into the vexed question of film authorship, this ground-breaking study will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students of French film and screenwriting. About the Author Sarah Leahy is Senior Lecturer in French and Film at Newcas