<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>This volume explores the overlooked category of screenwriters in French cinema, from the coming of sound to the digital age. Using key figures as case studies, it considers how the role has evolved industrially and critically, and sheds light on screenwriting practices in the context of debates on word and image, national cinema and authorship.<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br>Screenwriters have been central figures in French cinema since the conversion to sound, from early French-language talkies for the domestic market to lavish literary adaptations of the notorious 'quality tradition' of the 1950s, and from the 'aesthetic revolution' of the New Wave to the contemporary popular and auteur film in the 2000s. The first English language study to address screenwriters in French cinema, this volume will be of particular interest to scholars and students of French film and screenwriting. Taking a diachronic approach, it includes case studies drawn from the early sound period to the present day in order to offer an alternative historiography of French cinema, shed light on these overlooked figures and revisit the vexed question of film authorship.<p/><br></br><p><b> From the Back Cover </b></p></br></br>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.<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br>Sarah Leahy is Senior Lecturer in French and Film at Newcastle University Isabelle Vanderschelden is Senior Lecturer in French Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University