Curriculum
- Screenwriting theory (8 ECTS)
- Script analysis and project evaluation (8 ECTS)
- Writing techniques for audiovisual products: (12 ECTS)
- Screenwriting practice: treatments, scenes and dialogues, scripts, pitches
- The writing of genres and adaptation.
Writing for different formats: comic books, novels, documentaries, entertainment TV shows, advertising, the web, mobile media, and transmedia projects - Screenwriting and production of animation projects
- The audiovisual industry: (4 ECTS)
- Industries and audiences
- TV acquisition and programming and film distribution
- The physical production: pre-production, shooting, post-production, contracts and budgeting
- Communication ethics (4 ECTS)
- Workshop and practical exercises (8 ECTS)
- Final project (16 ECTS)
Internship and final Project
Three months before the end of classes, participants in the MISP will choose one of the two following career tracks: screenwriting or production, and invest their time after the end of the classes on their final project or on their internship.
MISP students who choose the screenwriting career will present a script for a feature film or a TV pilot, which can be either an original idea or an adaptation. This script can be written in English, Italian, French or Spanish.
MISP students who will choose the production track will undertake an internship on a film/TV series shooting (or also, if possible, within an established production or distribution company, a TV network or an advertising agency).
For foreign students who do not speak Italian, it can be difficult/impossible to begin an internship for the production track in Italy: in this case either they have to find and internship in their own country or they have to choose the writing track, and deliver a script as their final work.
For a good number of the students who will choose the screenwriting path, at the end of their final projects there will also be the possibility of doing an internship in some production company or network or writers room. This internship cannot be guaranteed in advance for everyone, as it will always depend on the acceptance of the candidate by the employer.
Faculty
Armando Fumagalli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Scientific Committee
Luca Bernabei, Ceo Lux Vide
Paolo Braga, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Arturo Cattaneo, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Armando Fumagalli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Luca Manzi, Screenwriter and creative producer
Tutor
Eleonora Recalcati, story editor and screenwriter
Annalisa Gandossi, scritp consultant (Sky Originals Italy)
Teachers and tutors of the final projects
Marco Alessi, screenwriter (Elisa di Rivombrosa, Rino Gaetano, Immaturi) and producer (Tahrir, Atlantide, Disco Boy)
Robert Amidon, executive producer, Atlas Entertainment (Triple Frontier, What/If)
Francesco Arlanch, screenwriter (Anna Karenina, Doc – Nelle tue mani, Blanca).
Renata Avidano, story editor and screenwriter (La strana coppia, Cosi fan tutte, Before Pintus).
Francesco Balletta, screenwriter (Distretto di polizia, Ris, Alfredino)
Deborah Belford de Furia, script consultant Colorado, Hollywood Gang, Medusa,
Adam Bernstein, Tv director, Emmy winner (30 Rock, Fargo, Breaking Bad)
Paolo Braga, professor Università Cattolica and screenwriter (Jules Verne)
Andrea Brusa, writer and director (Magic Alps, Inverno, Le voci sole)
Elena Bucaccio, head of Tv drama, Lux vide and screenwriter (Che Dio ci aiuti, Buongiorno mamma!)
Bobette Buster, script consultant, Los Angeles, and professor at NorthEastern University, Boston, Pixar Animation Studios, etc.
Gianfranco Cordara, Digital Supply Chain Consultant, Crunchyroll, Los Angeles.
Lucia Cereda, head of development, Medusa.
Laura Cotta Ramosino, TV series development executive, Cattleya (Nero a metà, Tutto può succedere, Circeo)
Luisa Cotta Ramosino, Director, Original Series, Netflix Italy
Craig Detweiler, professor at Gran Canyon University (Phoenix) and documentary director
Jennifer Dornbush, screenwriter and author, Los Angeles
Ryan Dornbush, VP and Director, Operations and HR, Alcon Entertainment, Los Angeles
Armando Fumagalli, professor, Università Cattolica, script consultant for Lux vide.
Jordi Gasull, screenwriter and producer, Madrid (Lope, Tadeo Jones, Atrapa la bandera /Capture the Flag, Mummies).
Giorgio Grignaffini, General Manager Taodue
Nadia Grippiolo, producer (Alex & Co., Come diventare grandi nonostante I genitori, Marta e Eva)
Steve Kaplan, script consultant and founder HBO New Writing Program
Francesca Longardi, producer Cattleya (Io non ho paura, Benvenuti al Sud, Summertime, Petra)
Luca Manzi, screenwriter and creative producer (Don Matteo, Boris)
Emanuele Marchesi, head of development, Sky Originals Italy
Jeff Melvoin, showrunner (Northern Exposure, Alias, Designated Survivor, Killing Eve)
Carlo Micciché, Director, Osservatorio Editoriale, Mediaset
Erica Negri, Head of Commissioning, Scripted Production, Sky Originals, Italy.
Gennaro Nunziante, screenwriter and director (Sole a catinelle, Quo vado, Il vegetale, Belli ciao)
Paolo Paggetta, Coordinator Pay and Svod Department, Mediaset
Alberto Pasquale, Director Umbria Film Commission, Film Business University Lecturer
Mara Perbellini, screenwriter (La vita che corre, Penny on MARS, Marta e Eva)
Erminio Perocco, copywriter (commercials Telecom, Lavazza) and advertising director (Crodino).
Miranda Pisione, screenwriter and lecturer
Valentina Pozzoli, head of development, Onza Partners, Madrid
Eleonora Recalcati, story editor and screenwriter (Che Dio ci aiuti, Maggie e Bianca Fashion Friends, Marta e Eva)
Mario Ruggeri, screenwriter (Don Matteo, Un passo dal cielo, Devils)
Maurizio Sangalli, screenwriter (Love Bugs, Il mammo, Casa e bottega).
Paolo Sigismondi, professor Global Entertainment, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Lea Tafuri, screenwriter (Coco Chanel, Chiara Lubich, Alda Merini)
John Truby, head of Truby Writers Studio, Los Angeles
Andrea Valagussa, screenwriter (Distretto di polizia, La strada di casa, Fino all’ultimo battito)
Gaia Violo, Screenwriter (Blood & Treasure, Star Trek), and creator (Absentia, In From the Cold), Los Angeles
Nicholas Weinstock, producer Invention Films (Severance, Escape at Dannemora, Thelma)
John Williams, Cinema writer and director, professor at Sophia University, Tokyo
Fabrizio Zappi, Director, Rai Documentari
Special lecturers
Eleonora Andreatta, Vice President, Original Content, Netflix Italy
Giorgio Assumma, Lawyer, President Fondazione Perseus
Pierdomenico Baccalario, author and founder, Book on a Tree
Luca Barbareschi, actor, producer and director (Adriano Olivetti, Something Good, J’Accuse)
Luca Bernabei, Ceo Lux Vide (War and Peace, Medici, Masters of Florence, Doc, Leonardo)
Massimo Bruno, Director DeAKids Channels
Valentina Cambi, Freelance Writer and Editorial Coordinator (Disney Publishing, Rai-Eri, Piemme, etc.)
Alessandro D’Avenia, novelist and screenwriter (Bianca come il latte rossa come il sangue, Ciò che inferno non è, L’arte di essere fragili).
Paolo Del Brocco, ceo RaiCinema
Ilaria Gomarasca, head of First Cut +, Film Festival Consultant, Paris
Giulia Ichino, publishing editor Bompiani, Giunti Publishing Group
Silvia Martinoli, author Disney publishing and journalist for Topolino
Jaime Ondarza, ceo Fremantle Southern Europe and Israel
Carlotta Quattrocolo, Executive Editor, Global Magazines, Disney
Maria Rodriguez Rabadan, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid
Marilena Rossi, director of Italian fiction, Mondadori
Paola Ruggeri, International Tv Marketing Analyst, Mediaset
Andrea Scrosati, ceo Fremantle Europe
Antonio Stefanucci, line producer (La piovra, Ris, Volare, Ognuno è perfetto)
Alessandro Usai, Ceo Colorado Film
David Zannoni, Zannoni Media Consulting, Mexico
Michele Zatta, producer Raifiction (Mare fuori, Il cacciatore)
Teachers of the animation workshop
Alfio Bastiancich, head of animation, Showlab.
Andrea Bozzetto, director (Topo Tip)
Robin Lyons, screenwriter and producer, Calon, Cardiff - UK (Hana’s Helpline, YoYo)
Luca Milano, Director, Rai Kids
Evelina Poggi, producer, Lynx Multimedia Factory
Margherita Premuroso, animator and director, Milan and London
Silvia Rigotto, executive producer, script consultant and agent (Rigotz Stories)
Giorgio Scorza, producer and director (Strappare lungo I bordi)
Maurizia Sereni, head of development Movimenti
Teachers of the workshop “Writing the musical”
Philip LaZebnik, Screenwriter (Mulan, Pocahontas, The Prince of Egypt)
Pippa Cleary, author and musician, London ((The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾, The Great British Bake Off Musical)
Ronald Kruschak, screenwriter and producer, Germany (Snow White and Me, A Little Peace)
Due to Covid restrictions or difficulties for teachers to travel, some of the classes could be held on line. The aim of the direction of the course is to have as many classes as possible in presence. But in spite of this a total of 5% to 10% of classes on line could reasonably be expected.
Student testimonials
AMANDA DEVINE, writer (class of 2017)
Currently she works as a Tv writer and development executive at Novo Media, a Los Angeles-based development and production company (A Tale Dark & Grimm, for Netflix).
CLAUDIA MUNARIN, Story editor (class of 2019)
Alumni
The alumni of the MISP have been writers, story editors, creative producers and in some cases directors of more than 2.000 hours of feature films and/or prime time Televisions and/or Tv series broadcasted in the main International platforms like Netflix, Amazon, DisneyPlus, etc.
They have been working, among many other achievements:
- As head writers for Don Matteo (from season 4 onwards), for Distretto di polizia 6, 7, 8, 9, for all the seasons of Ho sposato uno sbirro, Un passo dal cielo, Che Dio ci aiuti, La strada di casa, Non dirlo al mio capo, Buongiorno mamma!, Viola come il mare, Per Elisa, I fantastici 5, Made in Italy, Doc - nelle tue mani, Blanca (all top rating series for prime time of RaiUno and Canale 5) and series for Sky, Netflix, Amazon like Christian, Un amore, Summertime, Sono Lillo, Odio il Natale, Costiera; for animation series like Angel’s Friends, Virus Attack, Cuccioli cerca amici, Jules Verne; for the teen series Talent High School, Maggie and Bianca fashion friends, Nudes, PoV, Penny on MARS, Marta & Eva, Sfidiamoci.
- As screenwriters, they have written episodes of successful TV series broadcasted in Rai, Mediaset, Sky Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO Max such as (besides the TV series above) Medici Masters of Florence (starring Dustin Hoffman and Richard Madden), Il Commissario Rex, Elisa di Rivombrosa, Incantesimo, Nati ieri, Ris, Le stagioni del cuore, La squadra, Ritorno a Rivombrosa, Le tre rose di Eva, Tutto può succedere, Il processo, Tutta colpa di Freud, Gomorra, Home Sweet Rome, Blackout and miniseries like Giovanni Paolo II, San Pietro, La signora delle camelie, Pompei, Chiara e Francesco, La terza verità, Rino Gaetano, Paolo VI, Il mistero del lago, L’uomo che cavalcava nel buio, Davide Copperfield, Sant’Agostino, Sotto il cielo di Roma, Santa Barbara, Anna Karenina, Sotto copertura, Chiara Lubich, Alfredino, many animation series (Hana’s Helpline, Igam Ogam, YoYo, Grisù, Berry Bees, The Sound Collector, Topo Gigio, etc.), some sit-coms for Rai Educational (Tracy e Polpetta, Lab Story), for Disney Channel (Quelli dell’intervallo, Life Bites) and for Mediaset (Camera Café).
- As story editors or creative producers, they have had credits on international series and miniseries like, Leonardo (starring Aidan Turner and Matilda De Angelis), Augusto (starring Peter O’Toole and Charlotte Rampling), Coco Chanel (nominated to the Emmy, starring Shirley MacLaine), Callas e Onassis, Don Bosco, Edda Ciano, Maria Goretti, Papa Giovanni, Rita da Cascia. Soraya, Le ragazze di San Frediano, La freccia nera, Sissi, Enrico Mattei, Pinocchio, Cinderella, War and Peace; and in TV series like Devils (starring Patrick Dempsey and Alessandro Borghi), I Cesaroni, La compagnia del cigno, Alex & co., Petra, I delitti del BarLume, Strappare lungo i bordi, Un’estate fa, Call My Agent - Italia and many others.
For cinema, they have been working as screenwriters for Una famiglia perfetta, Something Good, Bianca come il latte rossa come il sangue, Italiano medio, The Start-Up, Chiamatemi Francesco, Ride, Padrenostro, Solo cose belle, Con chi viaggi, Pensati Sexy, Il legionario, and many others.
Short films written, directed and/or produced by Misp’s alumni have been winning awards all over the world, including Emmy Student Award, Venice Film Festival and David di Donatello.
Other alumni have been working on advertising or as theatre play authors or as production assistants, or assistant directors in many films or TV series.
Others have been working as authors for comics (Disney Publishing, ReNoir, Manga Vibe), or in tv channels or networks (Italia 1, Rete 4, Canale 5, Sky Cinema, Lei tv, Discovery), or in production or distribution companies or in specialized press (Best Movie, Box office) or publishing companies (Mondadori, Rizzoli, Il Castoro).
In the area of novels, the alumni of MISP have been authors, among others, of international best-sellers like Bianca come il latte rossa come il sangue, published in around twenty countries; and some series of novels for young girls like Leila blue and Aria (both series for Mondadori), which have been also published in many countries. Only in 2022 and 2023 around twenty novels have been published by our alumni, with some of the top Italian publishing companies like De Agostini, Mondadori, Piemme, Rizzoli, etc.
Career opportunities
- Screenwriters or creative producers of television series and feature films;
- Authors of TV entertainment programs and documentaries, copywriters, creators of video games and web series, writers of comic books and novels and fiction editors in publishing companies;
- Story editors and script consultants;
- Supervisors of evaluation, acquisition and programming of TV shows;
- Professionals working in different areas of the television and film industry (physical production, distribution, acquisition, product placement, etc.)
Programme dates
Classes are scheduled from Tuesday to Friday, 4 days a week on campus (10.00 AM - 5.30 PM). A break of 3 weeks will be scheduled during Christmas time.
Attendance is mandatory. In order to graduate, a minimum of 90% attendance is required.
The graduation is expected at the end of November 2025.
Learning Italian
In addition, SELDA organizes fee-paying Italian language courses, for more information contact SELDA.