Charlie Kaufman: Screenwriters' Lecture

20 December 11

On the 30 September, in front of a sell-out theatre at the BFI in London, Charlie Kaufman delivered the final lecture in BAFTA's 2011 Screenwriters' Lecture Series.

Kaufman - one of the few contemporary screenwriters whose name commands top-billing status alongside his films' directors - has quickly established himself as an uncompromisingly original and imaginative talent. 1999's Being John Malkovich, in which the eponymous actor plays a fictional version of himself, earned Kaufman a BAFTA Film Award for Best Screenplay - an award he picked up again for Adaptation (2002) and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004).

Failure is a badge of honour. It means you risked failure.

The video available to watch now on BAFTA Guru documents the first ever public lecture given by Kaufman, which he self-admittedly spent months agonising over how to present. In-fitting with the scale and ambition of his films, he uses the opportunity to argue the importance of telling the truth and the vacuity of 'selling' anything.

Watch Charlie Kaufman now on BAFTA Guru

_{BAFTA Guru is the Academy's online resource: inspiring minds in film, TV and games. Featuring the best in-depth video and podcasts from figures across the industries.}

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