Every film and every series begins with a screenplay.
Characters, stories, story worlds – before they can come to life on a screen, they are created in the imagination of writers.
The Screenwriting study programme teaches the skills needed to tell touching and gripping stories and reach and captivate an audience in a variety of genres and formats. Creativity, imagination and perseverance are just as important as the ability to critique and work in a team.
Screenwriting is a combination of working alone at a desk and having discussions and developing stories and content with project partners – "screenwriting is writing with the door open" (Wolfgang Kohlhaase).
Based on specific projects, the four-year study programme teaches the craft of storytelling. Students write screenplays and develop concepts in various genres and formats. This includes short and feature-length films, series formats as well as writing for advertising, computer games, cross-media formats or animation projects. We support mainstream projects as well as arthouse films and series and encourage students to try out radical approaches.
At the Filmakademie, collaboration between the different crafts and trades takes centre stage. Teamwork, dealing with criticism and conflicts and developing joint ideas are practised in collaborations. Short films are created in collaboration with Directing, Production and Cinematography students, giving them the experience of seeing their own work on the big screen and at festivals.
Students learn how to work in the writers' room as well as how to write in solitude and develop their own narrative voice. Excursions offer the opportunity to come into contact with established personalities from the industry.
It is important to us that the workshops and seminars are led by established screenwriters –because writing is best taught by writers.
The study programme is divided into five years, with the option of a ‘mobility year’ following the undergraduate studies. During this mobility year, students are encouraged to broaden their horizons through travelling, meetings, jobs and internships, regardless of whether they are related or unrelated to their subject.
First year
The first year takes the form of a general studies programme. All first-year students are encouraged to develop film concepts—either individually or in teams—into compelling and viable stories across a variety of formats. To this end, they are introduced to the fundamentals of dramatic storytelling and provided with an overview of key dramaturgical terms and basic structural models. Weekly acting classes offer students the opportunity to gain a practical understanding of what constitutes a strong screenplay by experiencing it firsthand.
Second year
In the course of the second year, students deepen their understanding of the fundamentals of dramatic storytelling through concrete projects and write screenplays for feature-length, short, and serial narrative formats.
In the course "Short Narrative Formats", screenwriting students collaborate with directing and production students to develop a short film script, which is produced during the summer semester. In the seminar "Long Narrative Formats", they write an initial screenplay for either a feature film or a series pilot. The focus lies on an in-depth exploration of their own storytelling intent and the challenge of transforming a personal idea into a full screenplay. The development process is supported by research, film analysis, lectures, and seminars on character psychology, narrative structure models, scene construction, and dialogue. In collaboration with acting students, screenwriting students also work on crafting their own scenes and dialogues.
Third year
The third year of study is dedicated entirely to writing for serial formats.
Students participate in a broad range of theoretical seminars designed to deepen their understanding of diverse television genres. The primary focus is on concept development and the collaborative creation of a corresponding script within the framework of writers’ rooms.
In addition, practical workshops offer students the opportunity to conceptualize and develop a spec episode of an existing, successful TV production. Attendance at festivals specializing in serial content is also part of the curriculum, providing valuable insight into the industry and first opportunities for networking within the professional film and television sector.
Alongside the focus on serial storytelling, the third year also offers students the chance to continue developing cross-format projects in collaboration with students from other disciplines, allowing for the creation, writing, and realization of original and format-independent works.
Fourth year and diploma
During this final year, students work on their graduation project: a screenplay for a feature-length film or a television series.
The extended writing phase, carried out under one-on-one supervision, is preceded by an intensive period of concept development and research conducted in group sessions.
As emerging talent, students begin to attract the attention of the German film and television industry. With a view toward the period following graduation from the Filmakademie, connections are established with industry professionals, agencies, and festivals to facilitate a smooth transition into a successful professional career.
Undergraduate studies
First year
The first year takes the form of a general studies programme. All first-year students are encouraged to develop film concepts—either individually or in teams—into compelling and viable stories across a variety of formats. To this end, they are introduced to the fundamentals of dramatic storytelling and provided with an overview of key dramaturgical terms and basic structural models. Weekly acting classes offer students the opportunity to gain a practical understanding of what constitutes a strong screenplay by experiencing it firsthand.
Undergraduate studies
Second year
In the course of the second year, students deepen their understanding of the fundamentals of dramatic storytelling through concrete projects and write screenplays for feature-length, short, and serial narrative formats.
In the course "Short Narrative Formats", screenwriting students collaborate with directing and production students to develop a short film script, which is produced during the summer semester. In the seminar "Long Narrative Formats", they write an initial screenplay for either a feature film or a series pilot. The focus lies on an in-depth exploration of their own storytelling intent and the challenge of transforming a personal idea into a full screenplay. The development process is supported by research, film analysis, lectures, and seminars on character psychology, narrative structure models, scene construction, and dialogue. In collaboration with acting students, screenwriting students also work on crafting their own scenes and dialogues.
Graduate studies
Third year
The third year of study is dedicated entirely to writing for serial formats.
Students participate in a broad range of theoretical seminars designed to deepen their understanding of diverse television genres. The primary focus is on concept development and the collaborative creation of a corresponding script within the framework of writers’ rooms.
In addition, practical workshops offer students the opportunity to conceptualize and develop a spec episode of an existing, successful TV production. Attendance at festivals specializing in serial content is also part of the curriculum, providing valuable insight into the industry and first opportunities for networking within the professional film and television sector.
Alongside the focus on serial storytelling, the third year also offers students the chance to continue developing cross-format projects in collaboration with students from other disciplines, allowing for the creation, writing, and realization of original and format-independent works.
Graduate studies
Fourth year and diploma
During this final year, students work on their graduation project: a screenplay for a feature-length film or a television series.
The extended writing phase, carried out under one-on-one supervision, is preceded by an intensive period of concept development and research conducted in group sessions.
As emerging talent, students begin to attract the attention of the German film and television industry. With a view toward the period following graduation from the Filmakademie, connections are established with industry professionals, agencies, and festivals to facilitate a smooth transition into a successful professional career.
Lecturer in Feature Film
Prof. Stefan Dähnert
Matthias Pacht
Stefanie Fies
Sonja Heizmann
Anna Praßler
Jan Galli
Michael Glasauer
Kerstin Laudascher
Lecturer in Serial Storytelling
Birgit Wittemann
Manuel Meimberg
Morgan Gendel
Henriette Lippold
René Jamm
Dr. Bernhard Gleim
Prof. Jan Kromschröder
Sebastian Colley
Gerhard Maier
