Armando Fumagalli’s Down-to-earth Approach to the Art of Screenwriting

How the Screenwriting Master’s Programme Director at Univerisità Cattolica is Opening Doors from Milan to the Global Stage

By Abby Lush, Avalon St. Clair, Isabela Soria-Gilman, Sarah Slagle

Armando Fumagalli (Source: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

“What…I try to stress (in teaching), is that to do things that have a big success, is not easy.” — Fumagalli

We had the pleasure of interviewing Armando Fumagalli, a professor of semiotics at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, about his role at the university and his experience working in the fields of teaching and production development. He has also been a script consultant for a major production company, Lux vide, since 1999.

Fumagalli has been teaching courses in semiotics, writing and producing for animation and history and industry of international cinema. His 30 year tenure at Cattolica has led him to become the director of the university’s International Screenwriting and Production Master’s programme. A highly specialised course in screenwriting and production with an upcoming intake in September of this year.

On the master’s programme, Fumagalli went on to mention that interviews for prospective students began a few weeks ago and will go on until June for foreign students and September for Italian students, as there is a rigorous selection process from amongst 130–150 applicants.

Only 48 will be selected for the programme, half from Italy, half from elsewhere. But according to Fumagalli out of these applicants, normally “100 are really excellent people”. It’s an unfortunate reality that many talented students will have to miss out but Fumagalli is nonetheless pleased with the level of high quality students who he will spend the next year with.

When asked about the most rewarding elements of teaching the master’s programme, Fumagalli went on to praise the nature of the smaller cohort allowing him to get to know his students.

“One of the most rewarding elements is to see people grow…with the specialising master programme (you stay) with the same 40 people and you get to know them”

“You see them not only learning but growing and flourishing as human beings, so this is very, very rewarding”.

Fumagalli mentioned that he is actually still in contact with many of the people from the programme who write to him or come to say hello. In fact, he was planning to meet one of them who is working in development for an animation company in Bologna, that afternoon for coffee.

Many of Fumagalli’s students have gone on to have successful careers of their own. Mara Perbellini and Illenia Provenzi — among others — are two former students of his who have accomplished careers in screenwriting and have now both returned to teach at Cattolica in areas concerning writing, screenplays and adaptation.

Fumagalli notes that a number of the students in the master’s programme were graduates of philosophy which he believes gives them an edge when understanding what makes good character conflict and motivation. “Some of (these students) are now top professionals. One of them is the head of (an) Italian TV series for Netflix and one of them is the head writer of the most successful TV series in Italy”, referring to tv serial The Doc. “Both of them…are very good example(s) of how an understanding of philosophy and anthropology can be a very good basis for working in stories”.

The director credits his own study of philosophy and ethics as giving him an edge to writing, allowing him to understand what makes truly compelling dilemmas. It’s not a simple choice between good and bad, it’s a choice between “two things that have value”. He brought up the example of The Devil Wears Prada “one not two”, he stressed. The protagonist Andy has to choose between being a successful professional in fashion and having a balanced life.

This sentiment is echoed in Fumagalli’s approach to finding work and study. To close out the interview, we asked Fumagalli about what advice he would have for young people or new graduates looking for work in screenwriting and production industries.

He emphasised that for young people who are still studying film, “I think you have to read a lot…to read novels…to read scripts and also to watch films, obviously.” He suggests keeping a list of films that you like and that have been commercially successful, not just won an award, and to study them: try to understand why they have done well, and go into detail about these things. He highlighted the importance of not discrediting a film just because of its commercial success . “Sometimes, especially in cinema schools…they tend to despise things that have been successful…for example, Despicable Me, I think, they are all masterpieces”.

For those trying to find a career after graduation, he acknowledges that it is no easy feat — “Normally when you are 22 or 23 (you don’t) have the human maturity to be a mature writer.” He spoke about the importance of working for some years in development, working with other writers and really understanding and nurturing your talent for writing and producing, while at the same time working on your own projects on the side. He also says “you have to decide the B plan”, in a similar way to an aspiring actor or actress, because it’s important to account for the possibility that things may not work out.

He highlighted the importance of having peers who are able to offer critical and honest feedback on your work, not just praise, to give you “a sense of what level you are”, as this way people are able to not only develop their skills, but also maybe realise that a different aspect of the production process could be a better fit for them.

“Maybe you’re a genius, maybe not. So, you have to understand whatever you are and you have to try to improve.”

When we asked for any additional comments to close the interview, Fumagalli spoke briefly about the hard work that goes into being a writer. “It is fascinating, but it’s very hard work.” But, like in The Devil Wears Prada, working hard is not the only source of fulfillment — “(it’s) the people you love, and the people that love you”. Professional success, in the long term, is not enough. A life that is truly balanced is where real fulfillment lies.