Cinema Masterclass

French in Motion launches its Masterclass Series dedicated to cinema. For this inaugural session, a French and an American TV series writer will share how their respective industries shape the screenwriting process.

Masterclass #1: Screenwriting, French vs. American – Two Systems, One Craft

What we’ll talk about :
– From idea to screen: how a spark becomes a project, from logline and synopsis to treatment and screenplay.

– Structure and rules: which rules matter, when to break them, and how structure differs between a feature film and a series.

– Characters and dialogue: building characters who can carry two hours or ten episodes, and writing dialogue that sounds true.

– Two systems, two ways of working: the French author-driven model versus the American studio and showrunner model, including writing routines, solo work and writers’ rooms.

– Feedback, rewrites and careers: handling notes while protecting your vision, with real case studies and advice for emerging writers.

GUEST SPEAKERS
Emmanuelle Rey-Magnan is a French screenwriter, series creator and producer. After studying film production at UCLA, she began writing for French television, where she has worked for over twenty years. She co-created Clem (TF1) and On va s’aimer un peu, beaucoup… (France 2), and co-wrote Les Secrets du Finistère (France 3). In London, she founded Story Island, which produces fiction designed for social media, with projects recognized at international festivals.

Leah Sarbib is an American, French and Algerian writer based in New York. She has worked in television writers’ rooms for Netflix, Apple TV+, Showtime and Amazon Prime Video. She was selected as a 2025 Film Independent Episodic Fellow, and her original play ROADKILL premiered at the New York Fringe Festival. She began her career at the Tribeca Festival, where she created and ran the audio department and produced podcasts for Tribeca Studios.

Presented by Stéphanie Valloatto, Head of the NY Chapter, French in Motion.
Stéphanie Valloatto is a French screenwriter and film director, based in New York City. She has written and directed a dozen documentaries for TV. Her first feature length documentary “Cartoonists foot soldiers of democracy” has been selected at Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for the César Awards, and received the Henri Langlois Award for Best Documentary. She is currently working on the editing of her last feature documentary “Food Family”.