The history of WCOS conferences
In 2006, the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE) organized the first European conference of screenwriters in Thessaloniki, Greece. The first “Screenwriters’ Manifesto” was drafted and adopted (http://www.scenaristes.org/manifesto.htm). As a result, the FSE, in collaboration with the IAWG, organized the first World Conference of Screenwriters in Athens in 2009, which was followed by additional conferences due to the great response and international impact of that first meeting.
At the time that these initial conferences were held, the VDD was a driving force in the planning and, in particular, the organization of these conferences. This provided the necessary experience for hosting the upcoming international conference.
ATHENS 2009
The first World Conference of Screenwriters took place on November 6-7, 2009. It was attended by over 200 writers from more than 30 screenwriters’ associations, including from the US, Canada, and Europe, as well as from countries such as Israel, Brazil, Argentina, and New Zealand. Among them were Robin Swichord (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), Peter Hedges (“About a Boy,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”), Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (“Big Eyes,” “Man on the Moon”), and Olivia Hetreed (“Girl with a Pearl Earring”). The event garnered considerable political attention, as evidenced by the presence of the Greek Minister of Culture, who facilitated a visit to the Acropolis on the eve of the conference.
On the last day, the FSE and the IAWG issued a declaration that celebrates the power of joint international action: “Together, we can best meet the challenges of our changing industry” (https://wcos.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/world-screenwriters-declaration/). Screenwriter Dorothee Schön published the following report in SZENARIO: http://www.scenaristes.org/pdfs/articleD-Schoen.pdf.
BARCELONA 2012
The Second World Conference of Screenwriters took place on November 9-10, 2012 in Barcelona. This conference was also attended by writers and representatives of their guilds and associations in more than 35 countries. The conference focused on digitalization and its impact on the international and national markets as well as on writing itself. Writers from countries such as India and Mexico were among the participants. Lectures by experts such as Liz Rosenthal (“Power to the Pixel”) and Paul Kontonis (International Academy of Web Television), as well as the report by Finland native Timo Vuorensola (director and producer of “Iron Sky”), in particular, were met with great interest. The subsequent discussions led to exciting results.
Further information can be found in the press release:
https://wcos2012.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/ndp_ii-world-conference-of-screenwriters_eng.pdf.
WARSAW 2014
For the third time, representatives of more than 30 associations from all over the world met, this time on October 1-2, 2014 in the Polish capital of Warsaw. At that time, the umbrella organizations FSE and IAWG represented 56,000 authors. The international conference focused on new Internet formats and the opportunities afforded by them to screenwriters, the development of the position of “showrunner” in an international context, and the negotiation of joint remuneration rules and legislative changes at the EU level.
Among the attendees were the writers Tom Fontana (“St. Elsewhere,” “Homicide: Life On The Street,” “Oz,” “Borgia”), Hagai Levi from Israel (“Be’Tipul”/”In Treatment”), Olivia Hetreed (“Girl with a Pearl Earring”), and Andrew Davies (“House of Cards,” “Mr. Selfridge,” and the “Bridget Jones” films).
Two resolutions were adopted on October 2, 2014:
http://www.scenaristes.org/pdfs/wcos03%20final%20resolution.pdf
http://www.scenaristes.org/pdfs/wcos03%20womens%20resolution.pdf
