Open Access‘The Great Scene That Never Happened’ – A Screenwriter’s Techniques of Blending Fact and Fiction in Creating a Compelling Character Arc in Biopics
Author(s) -
Maria Hinterkörner
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of life writing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2211-243X
DOI - 10.21827/ejlw.10.37921
Subject(s) - character (mathematics) , subject matter , literature , georgian , storytelling , screenwriting , history , art , visual arts , sociology , narrative , philosophy , linguistics , pedagogy , geometry , mathematics , curriculum
The biopic as a genre treads a thin line between fact and fiction. Using the theory and methods of visual storytelling and screenwriting, I will lay open the thought process and the tools of the craft that are employed to create a character arc using historical facts and figures for a movie that will resonate with a modern audience. I will also show how I tried to incorporate the producers’ expectations regarding the subject matter. I illustrate my process and techniques using my most recent screenplay Ushba, which narrates the unsuccessful climb of the eponymous Georgian mountain by a group of Austrian mountaineers, among them a young woman called Cenzi von Ficker.