By: Balkan Filmmaker

Balkan Filmmaker — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 18:13:36 +0000

I am glad to see that you have expanded your scope of examples. In your previous posts it was Israel and Greece that were foregrounded, which was, while true, completely wrong on another level. The only reason these two countries were so visible, was because they have small film industries and they have established films centres according to European standards only recently. This made it easier to notice that a revolving door allows few in, keeping everyone else out, while those in charge keep the illusion of fairness, success and creativity, making the public spending justified. However, all of European film industry is corrupt to the bone and yes, it is enough to closely observe Cannes Film Festival to see what is going on, in plain sight. No wonder Thierry Fremaux will not go, for the love of life, and if he was in politics, he would make Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping look transparent and loyal to meritocracy in comparison. But evidently, the film industry has no mechanisms of such scrutiny, so, a chosen few have monopoly on pretty much everything, and there is little difference across the European continent. These are very privileged jobs, often very well paid with benefits, so, yes, everyone becomes a little tyrant in its own fiefdom and would not let go. It is also interesting that a series of sex-scandals are not perceived as part and parcel of this power issue, and not isolated incidents that are of sexual nature, while all kind of bullying and abuse is rife.

I have some experience of film industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and other ex-Yugoslav countries, as well as in the United Kingdom. Centralized film schools, the same producers sitting on funding boards in different countries, exchanging public funding between themselves making it all look legit – is what goes on over and over again. They then pick these same films for festivals together with sales agents and a possibility of independence is pretty much obliterated. An inconceivable shake-up is needed to break through the layers of nepotism and corruption that have settled over this industry, actually, since the beginning of this century, when the film centers were open, festivals introduced talent and development programmes, and what was supposed to be a heaven for creativity, turned into its opposite. Introducing selection by virtue – which I am not against in principle – has just complicated things and also turned against itself.

The biggest problem is that the films are often total crap, made just to satisfy the form, for people in the industry get their pay across five or six countries that participate, and no wonder people are not going back to cinemas – they sense they are cheated on. In my experience, in the Balkans, theatre is the same, if not worse.

Comments on: Gender Discrimination – Oppressed Voices from Turkey, US & Israel

By: Balkan Filmmaker