Abstract

The script in documentary filmmaking is a subject of much controversy. Sometimes, a documentary adheres to a pre-defined script (explanatory process), while at other times it evolves with the exploratory process of the idea, theme, or subject of the film. It can sometimes resemble a scientific essay, and at other times, journalism. Between these polarities, we find various approaches to scriptwriting and the development of creative documentaries. I propose some approaches that have emerged for me since the late 1990s, confronting them with reference documentarians (Patrício Guzmán, Petra Costa, Jafar Panahi), the history of scriptwriting, and the challenges that AI currently poses to screenwriters, the students I work with, and myself. Regarding the use of AI in screenwriting, we do not yet have a critical framework that allows for in-depth reflection, but only experiments and simulations of scripts generated by ChatGPT and Copilot. This is an open journey integrated into exploratory practices of reflection and continuous training.