Authors writing for the cinema: Self-adaptations in Swedish film of the 1930s to 1950s

The project aims to examine writing and authorship across literature and film in a Swedish context from the 1930s to the 1950s, a period when literary authors became increasingly involved in filmmaking.

The material consists of so-called self-adaptations, i.e. adaptations from literary precursors - usually novels - to screenplays with the same author for both media.

Examples of such self-adaptations are Vilhelm Moberg´s novel-to-film adaptation Rid i natt (1942), Astrid Lindgren´s novel-to-film adaptation Mästerdetektiven Blomqvist (1947) and Ulla Isaksson´s short story-to-film adaptation Nära livet (1958).

Since most of the few women who wrote screenplays during this period were literary authors hired to adapt their novels into films, the project particularly highlights the role of female screenwriters in the classical era.

The study answers two main questions: how were self-adaptations written and produced and how was authorship in film and literature negotiated in the reception and promotion of self-adaptations?

The research findings will explain the role of the screenplay as intermediate text in the adaptation process and examine discourses of authorship in relation to cultural status and gender. The results will also show how solitary literary writing intersects collaborative cinematic writing practices.