Creative Control: Who Gets the Final Word?

Everyone celebrates creators. Yet films and series are shaped by a complex chain of creative, industrial and financial decisions — involving studios, platforms, producers, financiers and, increasingly, data. Some systems recognize directors and screenwriters as authors of the work; in others, final cut remains a contractual privilege. But creative authority extends far beyond final cut: it is exercised through development, casting, financing, production, marketing and distribution. At each stage, who has the last word — and where does that leave the screenwriter, filmmaker or showrunner? This session examines the place of the author across the full decision-making chain, and how creative authority can be organized without sacrificing singular vision.

Speakers

Ms. Julie Bertuccelli
Board Member, Société
des Réalisatrices et
Réalisateurs de Films (SRF),
and President,
La Cinémathèque du
Documentaire, France

Ms. Dora Bouchoucha
Co-Founder NOMADIS
IMAGES, Tunisia

Mr. Dariusz Jablonski
CEO and President, Apple
Film Production, Poland

Mr. Pascal Rogard
General Director, SACD,
France

Moderator:
Ms. Severa Irgacheva
Secretary-general, EFAD