Autore? Mediatore? Problem solver? Un’esplorazione sull’identità professionale degli sceneggiatori

This article is an exploratory analysis about the professional identity of screenwriters conducted through in-depth interviews with a small sample of screenwriters (Nicola Guaglianone, Barbara Petronio, Isabella Aguilar, Stefano Sudriè, Massimo Torre, Gino Capone). Their experiences reveal that the screenwriter’s career is often characterized by frustration: their contribution in the making of a film is often ignored by critics and spectators and, above all, this contribution is often not matched by adequate decision-making power. The career of the interviewees has developed between three different professional identities: “author”, “mediator” and “problem-solver”. All respondents agree that the current phase is characterized by a profound transformation of the profession. A transformation that hides difficulties and pitfalls but also opens up new opportunities. In particular, some of the interviewees have embarked on a path that seeks to combine the work of writing with production functions, on the model of the American television showrunner. These paths aimed at conquering (also through collective action) new spaces of decision-making power highlight the importance of the political dimension in the production of a film.