Less than a year after the threat of a screenwriters' strike stuck fear into the heart of Hollywood, the Berlinale is to change its rules on recognition for scriptwriting.

From next year the Berlinale will give writers equal credit with directors and lead actors in the listing of all festival films. Dieter Kosslick's promise was revealed this weekend by Thomas Bauermeister, managing board member of the Screen Writers Guild of Germany.

The new boost for the screenwriters - who since the earliest days of cinema have felt undervalued compared with directors - also follows the introduction of new copyright legislation in Germany. This gives German writers the right to obtain a greater financial share in the exploitation of their work. This year's Berlinale, though, is already doing its bit to throw a spotlight on the work of screenwriters and offer a platform for new film projects.

The eQuinoxe script development programme and its German arm has unveiled plans for future development of the programme that was originally founded by Robert Redford. The discussion, chaired by Sony Pictures Classics' co-chief Michael Barker included eQuinoxe president Jeanne Moreau, artistic director Noelle Deschamps, A Beautiful Mind screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and Sony Pictures Entertainment co-president Ken Lemberger.

Earlier this week, the European Pitch Point gave 12 young European writers the opportunity to pitch their scripts to producers and TV commissioning editors. The Framing Reality workshop on Wednesday (Feb 13) will bring writers, directors, media theorists and critics together for discussion of marrying word to image.