Screen International traces its history back to 1889 with the publication of Optical Magic Lantern and Photographic Enlarger.

The title was sold to British and American Film Holdings Ltd in September 1971, which merged it with rival film-trade paper Today's Cinema.

In 1975, Peter King purchased the struggling CinemaTV Today from Sir John Woolf for £50,000 (equivalent to £530,000 in 2023) and relaunched the publication as Screen International.

[6] Ascential later sold the magazine as part of a management buyout of Media Business Insight division in 2015.

The foundation's aim is to foster new European screenwriting talent by awarding an annual prize of £10,000 to the best first draft screenplay in a genre which changes each year.

A foundation patron, Emma Thompson, is an actress and screenwriter who has won an Academy Award for both disciplines.