This week, the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) published the report “Writers and Directors of Film and TV/SVoD Fiction – 2015-2023 Figures”, authored by Gilles Fontaine. The study surveys almost 36,000 writers and directors involved in European films and TV/SVoD fiction produced in Europe between 2015 and 2023.

The report relies on data from multiple sources. Initially, the LUMIERE database for films and its annual survey for TV/SVoD fiction were used to compile a list of works produced between 2015 and 2023. The directors and writers of these works were then identified using the LUMIERE database for film directors and IMDb for other roles, resulting in the identification of nearly 36,000 unique creators. However, the EAO notes that the data have limitations, particularly for TV/SVoD fiction, where the identification rate is lower for daily telenovelas and soaps. Additionally, the data only include works that were released, excluding projects that were developed but never completed or distributed.

First and foremost, the research reveals that most European films are penned and directed by the same professional, and that over 40% of TV/SVoD fiction directors have also directed theatrical films. Unlike their TV/SVoD fiction counterparts, film writers and helmers experience significant turnover, partly owing to the high number of debut films produced annually. As a result, TV/SVoD fiction writers and directors tend to work more frequently.

Moreover, the study indicates that 77% of European films involved a writer who also directed the movie, reflecting the continued prevalence of the film d’auteur model. This means, on the one hand, that 48% of screenwriters between 2015 and 2023 only wrote one or more films that they also helmed and, on the other hand, that only 55% of screenwriting jobs are allocated to screenwriters who are not also directors.

In contrast, in TV/SVoD fiction, the roles of writer and director are typically separate. Only 11% of professionals who have worked on at least one TV/SVoD fiction film or series episode have created a fiction film that they both wrote and co-directed.

Next, the study underscores that a significant proportion (43%) of all TV/SVoD fiction directors active between 2015 and 2023 have helmed at least one film at some point, including 30% between 2015 and 2023. By comparison, as there are many more directors active in theatrical films than in TV/SVoD fiction, only a small proportion of film directors have also worked for TV/SVoD fiction productions.

Furthermore, the EAO document reflects on the impressive turnover in theatrical films, based on data from 2015. 44% of film writers and 42% of film directors from that year have not worked again as either writers or directors in film or TV/SVoD fiction. In contrast, the situation is markedly different in TV/SVoD fiction, where 85% of writers and 90% of directors from 2015 continued their careers, with most remaining active exclusively in TV/SVoD fiction and in the same role.

Finally, the report reveals how there are usually more assignments in TV/SVoD shared between a smaller number of professionals. Specifically, such assignments are proportionally distributed between fewer active professionals than film assignments. Typically, working in TV/SVoD fiction implies more recurrence, with certain series running for several seasons. By contrast, the field of film seems structurally open to newcomers. In this regard, on average, between 2015 and 2023, 51% of the film directors active in a given year directed their first film.

This translates into a very different level of activity between the two content categories. The document reveals how, between 2015 and 2023, film writers wrote 1.4 films compared to 2.8 TV/fiction films or seasons for TV/SVoD writers (excluding seasons with more than 52 episodes).

The full report is available to peruse here.