Another Producer Describes the Same Closed Loop in European Film Funding“Everyone knew each other. Like true buddies sharing a secret.”
By FIW staff Film Industry Watch recently received the following account from a producer responding to our reporting on how public film funding in Europe is actually decided. It is one testimony, not a court ruling. But it is also the kind of testimo
“I Am Scared for My Life and My Career”: Cannes Critics’ Week’s Next Step Studio Indonesia and the Same Closed Loop FIW Has Been Warning About
From a country of 285 million, the same handful of names keep resurfacing across labs, juries, co-productions, and Cannes-linked selection pipelines. By FIW staff Film Industry Watch recently received an email from an anonymous industry source about
Radiator IP Sales, €9300 & Questions Around Access in Europe’s Short-Film System
How young filmmakers can become financially exposed within Europe’s publicly funded short-film ecosystem By FIW staff. Based on documents reviewed by Film Industry Watch and publicly available information, this article reflects analysis of patterns
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 hands, and the slow erosion of “arms-length” governance. This
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 years, Kosovo’s film sector has celebrated rapid international success
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 vibrant scene. In reality, it is a tiny, self-reinforcing circuit of i
Alleged Conflicts, Zero Consequences: How Cannes Insiders Stay in Control
By Film Industry Watch Why Festival Gatekeepers Remain Unchecked Despite Alleged Conflicts of Interest Over the past few years, Film Industry Watch has reported on what appear to be alleged structural conflicts of interest inside major international
Cannes Critics’ Week’s “Next Step Studio Indonesia”: A New Pipeline or a New Conflict of Interest?
By Film Industry Watch – October 2025 Thanks to a comment left on a related article we’ve been informed that Cannes Critics’ Week has announced Next Step Studio Indonesia, a filmmaker incubator launching in 2026 that will produce four short
Sundance’s Hollow Indie Dream: What Film Threat and Filmmakers Already Know
By FIW staff, thanks to readers contribution. Popular YouTube channel Film Threat recently covered our article “Sundance’s Little Dirty Secret: How NYU’s Elite Grip is Crushing Indie Dreams” and added their analysis to the growing bod
London Film Festival – conflicts of interest
We recently received the following email, we will follow up on this with an additional post shortly: “Following your post of December 26, 2023, this is an update that the BFI are continuing to select their own BFI-backed films for the
Kazakh State Center for the Support of National Cinema: Alleged corruption, favoritism, sexism, censorship & friendship with Russia.
We received the following email from a reader and are posting it as is for the time being. Please note that the content has not yet been independently verified through public records or third-party sources. We are currently working to obtain addition
Rebuttal Regarding the Articles “Armenia’s Cash Rebate Plan for Foreign Films” and “Armenia: Turbulence in the Local Film Industry”
Following the publication of our reader-submitted reports on May 30 and July 7, 2025, regarding Armenia’s new cash rebate scheme and broader developments in the country’s film sector (here and here), the Cinema Foundation of Armenia (CFA) has iss
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 premiere through a curated program? Back in February 2024, we received the
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 and institutional corruption permeating Israel’s publicly funded ci
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 A related post – An Oppressed Voice from Turkey – is publi
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’s film industry. This material raises questions about transparen
Hot Docs 2025 — When a Programmer’s Credits Creep onto The Screen
This article was prompted by yet another recent anonymous email from Indonesia. Please keep contacting us with information. Dear Film Industry Watch team, This is another voice from Indonesia that got moved by reading ur articles and knowing th
A Voice from Indonesia: A Filmmaker Exposes Feudalism and Fear in the Film Industry
In response to one of our latest articles, an anonymous filmmaker from Indonesia has stepped forward with a harrowing account of how nepotism, intimidation, and “feudalistic” power structures dominate her local film industry. In a candid letter s
Friss Hús Budapest Short Film Festival – a statistical abnormality
Film Industry Watch recently received the following anonymous email: Dear Editors, As this year’s edition is Hungarian Friss Hus Budapest Short Film Festival’s first as an Oscar-qualifying festival, it might be important to shed some ligh
Greece is open for business — just don’t expect to get paid!
How Corruption and Cronyism at EKOMED Threaten to Derail Greece’s Film Renaissance By Eugenio R. Bregman a Film Industry Watch contributor and Greek film industry insider. Update: A response by EKOMED has been made here. Greece’s thriving film in
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 at home not as a success story but as a textbook case of how public fil
Tatino Films – coming soon
This report is a preview of a soon to be released investigation into Tatino Films, its influence in European cinema, EU public financing, network of influence and methods of operations, which influences the entire European film and global industry ec
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 what appears to be another alleged case of conflict of interest in the
CANNES 2025: Un Certain Regard, letter from concerned filmmakers (UPDATE 1)
We received the below email from concerned filmmakers, and we’re posting it as is: update post festival The anonymous letter from concerned filmmakers specifically highlighted potential conflicts of interest involving jury president Molly Manni
Film Festival Jury Favoritism and Prior Connections
Film festivals strive for impartiality, but there have been notable instances where jury members awarded prizes to directors with whom they had prior connections. Below are documented cases and patterns, organized by type of connection, along with ho
Politics, Power & the Bonfire of Vanities: The 2027 (!) European Film Academy Event in Athens
By Eugenio R. Bergman, a Film Industry Watch contributor and Greek film industry insider. TL;DR version – The ethical issue at hand is that a committee member involved in voting for the Oscars submission had previously worked for a fee with the
Συνεχίζεται το τέλμα στον ελληνικό κινηματογράφο!
Του Έκτορ Αλεχάντρο Μοράλες, συνεργάτη του Film Industry Watch και γνώστη της ελληνικής βιομηχανίας. (By Hector Alejandro Morales, Film Industry Watch contributor and Greek industry
Decadence & Dysfunction: A Call for Greek Film Reform
By Hector Alejandro Morales, Film Industry Watch contributor and Greek industry insider. Following our publication of the article “Corruption and Decadence in the Greek Film Center”, which exposed the cartel-like operations behind
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 local and international stages, now finds itself at a critical crossr
POLAND: A Power Play at the PISF, Filmmakers Claim a Political Takeover
We only recently wrote about the dismissal of the previous head of the Polish Film Institute, only to be forced to write about the PISF again, as it seems that the new government is attempting a hostile take over. In late October, the Polish film com
Berlinale Invites Greek Director Vasilis Kekatos, Sparking Industry Outrage
In a move that stunned the Greek film industry, the Berlin Film Festival has invited director Vasilis Kekatos to premiere Our Wildest Days, his first feature, at the festival. This invitation follows the director’s failure to secure a slot at Canne
Out of the Shadows: Milcho Manchevski. Exposes Macedonia’s ‘Film Mafia’
By Mark Worth – Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection Milcho Manchevski is accustomed to walking down red carpets. Over his 30-year career, the Macedonian director and writer has been nominated for an Academy Award, won the Gol
Καταγγελίες για Διαφθορά και Παρακμή στο Ελληνικό Κέντρο Κινηματογράφου
Καινούργιο σκάνδαλο σύγκρουσης συμφερόντων και οικονομικών ατασθαλιών αποκαλύπτεται μετά από έρευνα – Ο Βασίλης Κεκάτος κα
Καταγγελλίες για Διαφθορά και Παρακμή στο Ελληνικό Κέντρο Κινηματογράφου
Σύντομη εκδοχή – Σας συστήνουμε να διαβάσετε την πλήρη και πιο λεπτομερή έκδοση αυτού του άρθρου, η οποία είναι διαθέσιμη εδώ. A sh
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 call & other scandals in the Greek film industry spanning 2020 to
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 same call & other scandals in the Greek film industry spanning 2020
We’re Hiring! Join Film Industry Watch and Share Your Industry Insights
Are you a filmmaker with firsthand experience navigating the complexities of the film industry? Film Industry Watch, the leading platform for exposing corruption, misconduct, and conflicts of interest in the entertainment world, is looking for experi
GREECE: “Oscar Selection Chaos” – Real Story Ignored by Local and Global Media
As reported in Variety and Deadline, the Hellenic Film Academy, Greece’s national cinema organization, has expressed its “outrage” and is demanding clarification from the Ministry of Culture following a series of “chaotic̶
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 head of the Polish Institute, appointed by the previous anti liberal and
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 to the film industry, it serves as an example of how corruption can be
SPAIN: Nepotism and Arbitrariness by David Blanco, filmmaker
In order to produce independent Cinema in Spain, the support of public money from national and regional televisions and institutions is essential. The public television stations are, at the national level, Televisión Española and at the regional le
MEXICO – Festival Corruption, Buying Oscar Qualifying Awards
We’re publishing the following email as it was received: “I am an independent filmmaker with 6 feature films made, and I am [not] surprised by your statement about corruption at film festivals, because in Mexico it is regrettable. In Mexi
ROMANIA: Alleged Conflicts of Interest in Romanian Film Awards Highlight Industry Practices
Thanks to reader’s contribution we’ve been made aware that the Romanian Film Awards, commonly known as the Gopos, have recently come under scrutiny for practices that raise questions about conflicts of interest within the local film indus
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 התקציבים לקרנות עצמן, בעזרת יצירת “דל
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 majority, of feature film financing is allocated to a small group of indiv
HUNGARY: Petition to the European Ombudsman
We’ve been contacted by a Hungarian filmmaker to inform us of a petition that was sent to the European Ombudsman to investigate the film industry in Hungary. The country has been under the grip of an ultra conservative and nationalistic right w
UKRAINE: Conflict of Interest and Nepotism in the local Film Industry
Thanks to readers contribution, we’ve been informed of recent controversy around the integrity and transparency of cultural funding, particularly in the context of international support, in Ukraine. At the heart of this story is a substantial d
North Macedonia: Milcho Manchevski’s case against the National Film Agency and the Filmmakers Guild
Thanks to readers contribution, we’ve been made aware of the following case which was originally published below. Also below is a response from the Macedonian Film Professionals Association, and finally an additional post about the case. Scroll
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 industry, mirroring society as a whole, has gone too far in correcting histor
Talking Shorts online Magazine, EU Funded, a Tool for Self Promotion?
Thanks to readers contribution, we’ve learned that Talking Shorts (TalkingShorts.com), an online magazine which is funded by the EU, is nothing more than a tool for self promotion. Publicly claiming that the magazine was created in order to fos