Israel - Film Industry Watch

Turning Off the Oxygen: The Calculated Gutting of Israel’s State Cultural Prizes

For years, Film Industry Watch has tracked the steady decay of Israel’s cultural infrastructure. We’ve reported on the revolving doors, the concentration of power in a few hand

Critics Review Their Own Colleagues: Inside Israel’s Hidden Cinema Network (Shmuel Duvdevani and Eti Tsiko)

Friends Reviewing Friends: Conflicts of Interest in Israeli press & Cinema

By Film Industry Watch Staff – with information provided by readers The Israeli film industry likes to talk about diversity, bold voices and creative risk. On paper, it is a

Israeli Culture Minister Pulls Funding from Ophir Awards After Palestinian-Themed Film “The Sea” Wins Top Prize

In Israel, the crazy cuts both ways. The Israeli film industry was rocked this morning when Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar announced the government would halt public fundin

Gender Discrimination – Oppressed Voices from Turkey, US & Israel

Film Industry Watch received the following email, with certain details redacted to protect the filmmaker’s identity: “Thanks for the information. If you are genuinely intereste

Jerusalem Film Festival, a Celebration of Discrimination: How Israel’s Film Industry Is Punishing Its Men

An update to this post – Oppressed Voices from Turkey, the US and Israel – is published here. Earlier this month we published a detailed exposé on the gender imbalance

11 Female Nominees, One Male: Inside Israel’s Ophir Awards, Chaos & Derangement

While The Far Right Clings To Power, The Radical Left Loses Grip On Reality Israeli Cabinet Moves To Dismantle Public Broadcaster’s Newsroom, Deepening Battle Over Press Freedom

ISRAEL – Inside the Gate-Keeping: One Filmmaker’s Fury at Israel’s Festival Circuit

Film Industry Watch continues its coverage of the simmering controversies around Israel’s cultural institutions. Earlier this month an award-winning documentary producer sent Fil

ISRAEL: The Takeover of Israeli Cinema: Politics, Corruption, and Cultural Erosion

Israeli Cinema Under Siege: Government Reforms, Alleged Corruption, and a Fight for Artistic Survival The Israeli film industry, once celebrated for its groundbreaking work on both

ISRAEL: Controversial Gathering by Israeli Film Board Lead by Noa Regev Sparks Outrage Among European Filmmakers

In a move that has shocked and outraged the European film community, the Israeli Film Board, led by Noa Regev, hosted a lavish gathering at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival amid escal

ISRAEL: Decades Long Alleged Corruption at the Rabinowitz & Gesher Film Funds

Giora Eini, Eti Cohen, Moshe Edery, Yoav Abramovich & others. Following our report on the revolving doors at the Israeli Film Fund, where a significant portion, if not the majo

ISRAEL: Continuous Gender Bias at the Jerusalem Film Lab headed by Dana Blankstein and Mor Eldar

We’ve already reported about the statistically significant gender bias at The Jerusalem Film Lab here. It has come to our attention that the lab continues to bias on the basi

Former Head of the Israeli Film Fund Allegedly Awarded Funding to a Project Directed by his Wife’s Business Partner

Thanks to our readers contribution we have came to know that Katriel Schory, who established the Israeli Film Fund and served as its CEO for almost 30 years, allegedly approved pro

Revolving Doors At The Israeli Film Funds Headed by Noa Regev, Film Council member Osnat Bukofzer Alleged Conflict of Interest and more

חברי תעשיית הקולנוע הישראלית שיש להם מידע נוסף על שחיתות בקרנות, במיוחד בקרן רבינוביץ ועל דלתות מס�

Inside Kosovo’s Film Funding Loop: The Same People Train, Curate, Judge – and Win

A Documented Network of Overlapping Roles Between KCC, DokuFest and a Cluster of Repeat Beneficiaries (2024–2025) By Film Industry Watch and Kosovar Film Industry Insiders For ye

Gender Wars – The Vanishing Male Audience, Hollywood’s Self-Inflicted “Boy Trouble”

Disney’s desperate pivot to win back young men exposes a decade of systematic audience alienation When Variety published “Disney’s Boy Trouble: Studio Seeks Origi

Is Cannes’s Factory a pay‑to‑play scheme?

If you’ve ever tried to raise money for a film production, ask yourself this: how much easier would it be if the project you were pitching came with a guaranteed Cannes premi

Sundance’s Little Dirty Secret: How NYU’s Elite Grip is Crushing Indie Dreams

By FIW staff The Sundance Film Festival bills itself as the ultimate stage for independent cinema, a supposed democratizer of storytelling where fresh, diverse voices can break thr

Armenia: Turbulence in the local Film Industry

UPDATE July 31: A response to this article is published here: Film Industry Watch is publishing the following user-submitted investigative report about potential issues in Armenia&

Armenia’s cash-rebate plan for foreign films faces legal and ethical challenges

UPDATE July 31: A response to this article is published here: The Armenian Government’s new promise to refund up to 35 percent of a producer’s local spending is being greeted a

Cannes 2025: Anonymous Source(s) Reveal New Conflict of Interest at Cannes (updateS 1,2,3,4,5)

New related post: A Voice from Indonesia: A Filmmaker Exposes Feudalism and Fear in the Film Industry Film Industry Watch recently received the following anonymous email exposing w

Alleged Corruption and Decadence at the Greek Film Center – Short version

More conflicts of interest and financial scandal emerges – filmmakers who reviewed and evaluated proposals for the Greek Film Center, received financial support in the same

Alleged Corruption and Decadence at the Greek Film Center (FULL ARTICLE)

More conflicts of interest and financial scandal emerges – filmmakers who reviewed and evaluated proposals for the Greek Film Center, received financial support in the s

POLAND: A Success Story – Polish Film Institute Falling Into Ruin, Corrupted Head Fired

Thanks to readers contribution, we’re bringing you a success story from Poland, where the local filmmakers were able to bring about the replacement of an allegedly corrupt he

How Corruption and Greed Led to the Downfall of Rock Music

The following is a discussion between Rick Beato and Jim Barber about how corruption has devastated the music industry since around 1996. Although this interview does not pertain t

תעשיית הקולנוע בישראל – ריכוזיות וחשד לניגודי עניינים ושחיתות לכאורה לאורך עשרות שנים – קרן רבינוביץ וקרן גשר

המידע המוצג להלן מצייר תמונה של תעשייה נגועה בשחיתות לכאורה באופנים שונים. ראשית, השפעה על חלוקת הת

Gender Politics – Has the Industry Gone Too Far?

Published 13/2/2024 ACE Producers: Torino Film Lab staff page: Cannes’ Residency Fall 2023: The Israeli Film Fund social media banner: Has gender politics in the film industr

Is Nadav Lapid Receiving Full Production Funding from two Countries, Against the Rules?

Thanks to readers contribution we’ve been made aware that Nadav Lapid is probably receiving full production funding as the resident of two countries, against the rules set ou

Is the Integrity of the European Film Industry Compromised?

Before we delve into the details of this article, we want to remind our readers of a simple yet crucial fact: every year film festivals receive thousands of submissions. The most p

CHARTS: Merit, Festivals & “Politics”

The chart below provides a clear visual representation of the prioritized factors in decision-making processes within film festivals and funding organizations, explaining how and w

CASE STUDY: The Concentration of Power, Influence & Control in the European Industry

In the past decade and a half, the European film industry has witnessed the emergence of several key organizations, ostensibly designed as tools to support the film industry and fi

Dual Role as Glasgow Short Film Festival Programmer & at a Short Films Distribution Company

Sanne Jehoul’s concurrent positions as Programme Director at the Glasgow Short Film Festival, Scotland’s premier short film event and a BAFTA Qualifying event, and as a

Special Report – favouritism, nepotism in the European film industry

The European film industry is grappling with serious concerns regarding transparency and fairness, particularly in the context of the industry being largely funded by the public, w

NISI MASA alleged conflicts of interests under the tenure of Wim Vanacker

Favouritism and conflict of interest at NISI MASA, now known as “European Short Pitch”, under the tenure of Wim Vanacker. The information presented below is part of a w

CASE STUDY: Statistically Significant Gender Bias at The Jerusalem Film Lab

Recent reports have brought to light concerns regarding gender bias at The Jerusalem Film Lab’s 10th lab event, held in 2020. (Another case from 2024 is reported here) Statis

CASE STUDY – Producer & Festival Decision Maker – Dominique Welinski’s Multiple Conflict of Interests Roles in the Industry

A more recent (May 2025) article about this subject was published here. Dominique Welinski maintains a multitude of influential roles within the film industry, generating a potenti

Search results for: Israel

New search: