This is the first of the total four courses designed for filmmakers and storytellers who want to create personal, meaningful films. As a Cannes-featured director and scriptwriter with experience in both high-end productions and low-budget, guerrilla-style filmmaking, I will guide you through the essential early stages of auteur film development and scriptwriting — from your initial idea to a production-ready shooting draft.
In the first block, we will learn how to articulate your project through essential development materials: logline, synopsis, treatment, and the director’s statement – the key development materials you’ll need to shape your project and present it to film funds and co-producers. You’ll learn how to write these documents— all from the point of view of an auteur filmmaker.
The second block dives into the creative and structural process of writing the script itself. We’ll explore character, narrative arcs, themes, and the practicalities of working toward a script that’s both personal and artistically grounded, and ready for production.
By the end of this course, you’ll understand the full path from initial idea to shooting draft — and be equipped with tools to take your film, with clarity and authorship, to the next stage – Financing and Pre-Production – the topic of the next course.
In all four courses, we will cover all the essential aspects of filmmaking — from an auteur point of view- from theory to practical application, from visual storytelling to emotional tone. You will learn how to write a screenplay, prepare for the shoot, work with actors, lead a crew, and shape your film in post-production. But this is not just a technical course. I will also share personal experience: stories, challenges, mistakes, and breakthroughs I’ve experienced on real sets, so you can gain valuable insight into the emotional and intuitive side of directing.
Auteur filmmaking means leading the creative vision, and that requires more than knowledge — it requires self-awareness, intuition, and trust in your voice. This course is here to help you develop all three.
I created these courses because 15 years ago, when I was starting out – these is the exact courses I wish I had. Something that could offer not just theory and instructions, but a sense of what directing truly feels like — the experience before the experience. That realization became the driving force behind this project.
