Fundamentals of Screenwriting

From ideas to the screen

Every story begins with an intuition. To become a film or a series, it must find form, rhythm, characters and conflict.
The RUFA Screenwriting Fundamentals course introduces you to writing for film and television series. Through lessons, analysis and practical exercises, you will learn how to transform an idea into a story designed for the screen.

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Learning to tell stories through images

The course is aimed at young people and adults who want to approach writing for film and television series for the first time.
The programme alternates theory and practical workshops, exploring the main models of audiovisual storytelling and the tools required to construct a story designed for the screen. It is also suitable for young people aged 16 to 18 who want to understand whether cinema and audiovisual media could become a future educational or professional path.

From the basic course to Advanced Screenwriting

Screenwriting Fundamentals is the first module of a broader programme. The skills acquired provide the foundation for the subsequent Advanced Screenwriting course (available upon request), dedicated to developing a personal project and preparing materials for competitions, pitching forums and professional contexts.

Course type: group – in person
Participants: max. 15
Attendance: weekly, Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm
Duration: 8 lessons – 32 hours total
Cost: €490.00 in a single payment or two instalments of €250.00
Requirements/materials: none
Materials: paper, pen, laptop computer (strongly recommended)
Language: Italian
Lecturer: Veronica Cascelli
Campus: RUFA – Via degli Ausoni 7, Rome
Scheduled annual sessions: Autumn Session > 17 October – 5 December 2026, Spring Session > 13 March – 15 May 2026

The Screenwriting Fundamentals course aims to provide participants with the theoretical and practical foundations of writing for audiovisual media, film and television series, starting from the analysis of the most significant narratological theories and practical exercises leading to the final development of a synopsis, an outline and a logline as preparatory steps towards developing a screenplay and presenting it to the market.

INTRODUCTION
– Study and analysis of basic theories:
– the Hero’s Journey;
– the Heroine’s Journey;
– the character transformation arc.

FUNDAMENTALS
– How to develop a film story: the various stages of the process;
– how to structure a screenplay: the three acts.

MODEL ANALYSIS
– Reading, analysis and exercises based on outstanding screenplays and films: recognising the basic structure of a story through the outline.

CREATIVE WRITING PRACTICES
– Research and development of narrative ideas: the use of pre-existing materials;
– how to integrate and develop a film story: developing the second act.

OCTOBER

17/10/2026
24/10/2026
31/10/2026

NOVEMBER

07/11/2026
14/11/2026
21/11/2026
28/11/2026

DECEMBER

05/12/2026

Veronica Cascelli is a screenwriter, story editor and script consultant with over twenty years of experience in the development of film and television projects. A graduate in Screenwriting from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and in Film History and Criticism from Sapienza University of Rome, she combines her work as a writer with extensive experience in screenplay analysis and development.
Since 2018, she has worked as a Story Analyst for Rai Cinema, where she evaluates Italian and international screenplays, while for almost ten years she worked at RTI Fiction – Mediaset as a Story Editor and Production Delegate, overseeing the entire creative and production process of major television series, from story development through to post-production.
As a script consultant, she works with Italian and international film productions on the development and revision of screenplays, supporting writers and directors in constructing their stories. Alongside this, she teaches screenwriting and story editing and has taught, among others, at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Cinemadamare and Fondazione MAXXI.

In RUFA’s Screenwriting course, she guides students in learning the fundamental tools of audiovisual writing through an approach that combines theory, text analysis and workshop practice, conveying a working method directly derived from her experience in the film and television industry.

RUFA Winter-Summer Course Students and Alumni: 10% RUFA Students and Alumni: 50% Very early bird: by 31 December 2025 – 15% Early bird: by 31 March 2026 – 10% Course/group/family package: contact [corsibrevi@unirufa.it](mailto:corsibrevi@unirufa.it) Participants who, after completing the course, enrol in a First- or Second-Level Academic Diploma Programme will receive a 10% reduction on the annual tuition fee for the first year of attendance.