Thank you for your comment. There are simple ways to combat nepotism and conflict of interests. Heads of funds and the people who make artistic decisions could easily be replaced every 2-3 years. Project evaluators should be full time employees under contract, and should not be working as directors at the same time as they make evaluations. Evaluations could also be made by outsiders who are brought in from other countries, so they evaluate the scripts based on merit only, and not according to their social network. There are many ways to combat these issues.

The point of these articles is that system is rigged everywhere not because of a bug in the system but as a feature of the system. It is designed to allow certain people to give out money to whoever they want because tens and hundreds of millions of Euros are involved, and it is sure as hell easier to steal money in the arts, than walking into a bank with a gun, or setting up a multi million Euro business. Wherever a lot of money is involved, people will find ways to manipulate the system to gain control and influence over it, and then stay there, indefinitely. Having the same people manage films funds for 10, 15 and 20 years (as in the example above) is the result of a deeply flawed system that has been hijacked and then manipulated and controlled by the same individuals, not in the best interest of the industry, but in the best interest of the people involved, their families and friends. You can also be rest assured that these people don’t think that they’ve done anything wrong – like every defendant, in any court, in any country, they have ways to self justify their behaviors, to everyone and especially to themselves.