Journal of Screenwriting - Current Issue

This article discusses the therapeutic potential of scriptwriting in healing trauma behind and in front of the screen. It focuses on the documentary Procession (Greene 2021) that gives voice to six middle-aged male survivors of child abuse by Catholic priests. The documentary shows film director, Robert Greene, and the dramatherapist, Monica Phinney, leading a journey of continually supporting and encouraging survivors to re-tell their stories. Rather than focusing on direct interviews, Procession invites survivors to re-enact their memories, creating an opportunity for them to not only revisit but also to recover from their personal traumas. As they share their stories, they engage in a collective act of screenwriting, taking turns acting in each other’s scenes. The documentary shows the complex process of screenwriting to overcome child abuse and trauma, as each survivor creates and shoots a key scene from their personal history of abuse. Throughout the documentary, survivors play the roles of screenwriters, film directors and actors, leading their scenes, bringing traumatic dialogues back to life, recalling nightmares and revisiting physical sites of abuse. This article draws upon Bill Nichols’s and Jill Godmilow’s analytical framework of performance-based documentary to analyse how Procession uses scriptwriting and filmmaking as tools for participants to unpack their feelings, generating space for a cathartic reconciliation with their past.

Conventional linear three-act structure has become the dominant form in anglophone screen industries and creates a particular meaning and viewing experience. Modular structure, a feature of the puzzle film, uses radical non-linearity and complex plot articulations to create a very different viewing experience, and while some films use this approach to create a distanced, analytical effect, and still others seem designed to present a challenge to the viewer in the manner of a mind game, some narratives, such as Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, have been able to leverage this breaking down of linear temporality to expressionist effect, representing the workings of a traumatized mind. This article examines the techniques which Ramsay and co-writer Rory Kinnear used to create that expressionistic effect, focusing on the use of three distinct timelines from different points in the protagonist’s life reordered around a traumatic event and the use of sensory fragments of the trauma in transitions and foreshadowing.

Is it possible to document trauma? How should one approach the disaster zone where the subject is torn to pieces? What narrative resources does Mexican-Salvadoran director Tatiana Huezo utilize to map these pains in her documentaries El lugar más pequeño (‘The Tiniest Place’) (2011) and Tempestad (‘Tempest’) (2016) and in her fiction Noche de Fuego (‘Prayers for the Stolen’) (2021)? In developing my argument, I propose that Huezo employs a poetics of displacement in her approach to women who have experienced gender-based violence and forced disappearance of family members. Their suffering is explored through displacing their stories with respect to their bodies, sheltering their emotions in visual metaphors and letting their voices wander through the landscape. Her work assists me to explore Adam Ganz’s notes (2010) on the relationship between writing for the screen and oral tradition, as well as Michel Chion’s reflections (1999) on the effect that the displacement of voices has with respect to the body in cinema. It also helps me to inquire into the significance of spaces of trust in the construction of the ‘idea for the screen’ among participants who are not writers and, ultimately, to investigate the nature and the function of art in the context of violence.

This article examines the role of documentaries in addressing and healing trauma, as well as the pursuit of historical truthfulness during the age of transitional justice, with a focus on the documentaries of Jesse Hung Wai-Kin (JC Hung; 1950–2018) 洪維健 and its connection to Taiwan’s Public Television Service (PTS). As the first documentary director to concentrate his career on the White Terror period and transitional justice, Hung’s documentaries provide a case study to explore: (1) the impact of White Terror trauma on Hung’s filmmaking and screenwriting, particularly his narrative; (2) the transmission of personal traumatic experiences across generations and (3) the potential educational functions of these documentaries. Engaging with the concept of ‘postmemory’, this article investigates how trauma documentaries may facilitate intergenerational communication. Through a detailed textual analysis of Blind Night 暗夜哭聲 (2006), and ‘J. C. Hung’s study notes’ 洪維健的學習筆記 (2018), this study reveals his subjective, critical, and emotional style, emphasizing how his screenwriting contributes to shaping public perceptions of the historical trauma. Ultimately, this research contends that it is imperative to adopt a more inclusive perspective and respect the testimonies of victims.

Screenwriting for documentary films involves authentically and ethically representing real-life subjects, especially challenging when portraying disability. This article examines the screenwriting process for Invisible Summit (2023), directed by Fan Lixin, documenting Zhang Hong, the first visually impaired Asian mountaineer to summit Mount Everest. The research explores how the director balances narrative storytelling with ethical considerations, avoiding stereotypes and exploitation. Through a detailed case study, the analysis delves into Zhang Hong’s early childhood trauma and his sensitivity to social perceptions of disability, highlighting the importance of respecting the subject’s dignity. The article integrates insights from disability studies and trauma theory, advocating for a nuanced portrayal that transcends the ‘inspiration porn’ trope. The findings emphasize the necessity for documentary filmmakers to engage deeply with their subjects, ensuring narratives are grounded in empathy and reality. This approach enriches the documentary’s narrative and challenges traditional media representations of disability, promoting more inclusive and respectful portrayals. The study concludes that authentic representation in documentary screenwriting requires a commitment to ethical storytelling, respecting the complexities of the subject’s experiences and fostering a deeper understanding of disability and trauma among audiences.

Review of: Refocus: The Films of Lawrence Kasdan, Brett Davies (2024)

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 237 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-39952-407-0, h/bk, GBP 90