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 wider story in which a couple of dozen people effectively “control” a large part of the film industry in Europe, through a web of personal connections, by holding multiple roles in several interconnected organizations, such as film festivals, script labs, and national film funding bodies.
Important – this is in the context of the European film market, where funding for films, labs & festivals is in large part public, meaning it is funded with taxpayers money. Fairness and transparency is expected.
NISI MASA, now called “European Short Pitch”, plays a significant role in promoting emerging professionals within the European film industry.
Over the years, concerns have been raised regarding potential alleged corruption and conflicts of interest, as highlighted in the example below. Additionally, it is important to consider the below information in the context of the numerous projects that are submitted annually for consideration – dozens of projects, if not more – which renders the below data a statistical impossibility, and indicates, allegedly, corruption, or at the minimum what can be seen as extreme favouritism and nepotism.
It is also important to recognize that the organization benefits from public funding provided by the European Union. This is not a private organization. It is funded with public tax payers money.
A series of potential conflicts of interest and favouritism within the NISI MASA organization, particularly involving an individual named Ben “Bekke” Vandendaele, the owner of Bekke Films and distribution company RADIATOR IP Sales. Here’s a breakdown to clarify the situation, in addition to two additional issues concerning Wim Vanacker and alleged conflict of interests and/or favouritism / corruption within the film industry:
- Repeated Selections of Ben Vandendaele’s Productions:
- In the 2016 NISI MASA event, two films were produced by Ben Vandendaele, “Deep Boy” and “The Hoarder”.
- In the 2017 NISI MASA event, two films produced by Ben Vandendaele, “Hunt” and “The Nipple Whisperer,” were selected.
- In 2018, another film produced by Vandendaele’s company, “Vegeance Of The Vixens,” was selected, while he was working as a consultant in the organization.
- In 2019, he again produced a film selected in the program “Creatures”, while again working as a consultant in the organization.
- Multiple Roles in the Same Event:
- In 2018, Ben Vandendaele played multiple roles:
- He was a producer of a selected film.
- He acted as a consultant to the organization.
- He was involved in awarding a Distribution Award to a different project.
- At the same time, he received an award for a film he produced.
- In 2018, Ben Vandendaele played multiple roles:
- Connections to Jury Members:
- In 2017, Daria Vlasova, a jury member, was involved in a film where Bekke Films, owned by Vandendaele, was the agent.
- Jury member Jérôme Nunes had connections to Ben Vandendaele.
- In the same year, two films connected to jury member Marija Fridinovaitė were selected.
- Potential Conflict of Interest with Jury Member Ola Jankowska:
- Ben Vandendaele’s distribution company handled Ola Jankowska’s “Deer Boy,” while she was a jury member at the event.
- Ben Vandendaele’s distribution company handled Ola Jankowska’s “Deer Boy,” while she was a jury member at the event.
- Award Win Under Questionable Circumstances:
- In 2018, “VENGEANCE OF THE VIXENS,” produced by Bekke Films (owned by Ben), won an award while Ben was also serving as a consultant.
- Selection of a project produced by a fellow Cannes committee member:
- GABRIEL Oren Gerner – Israel / France, produced by Melissa Malinbaum from Why Not Productions, which was later selected to the 2018 Official Selection in Cannes, where both Melissa Malinbaum & Wim Vanacker are members of the selection committee. In other words, a film produced by a fellow committee member, was selected to the festival.
- GABRIEL Oren Gerner – Israel / France, produced by Melissa Malinbaum from Why Not Productions, which was later selected to the 2018 Official Selection in Cannes, where both Melissa Malinbaum & Wim Vanacker are members of the selection committee. In other words, a film produced by a fellow committee member, was selected to the festival.
- Selection of film by a director / producer duo, later to be involved in a major controversy:
- Notably, Wim Vanacker serves on the Selection Committee for the Cannes film festival. In 2017, the film “The Silence of the Dying Fish” by Vasilis Kekatos of Greece, produced by Eleni Kossyfidou of Blackbird Production, was selected for participation in NISI MASA. Then, in 2019, another film by Vasilis Kekatos, The Distance Between Us and the Sky, also produced by Eleni Kossyfidou, was not only selected for Cannes but also won the prestigious short Palme d’Or. However, this achievement is shadowed by the conflict of interest arising from the fact that one of the jury members, Panos H. Koutras, has a longstanding professional relationship with Eleni Kossyfidou – she has been his producer for over 10 years. Meaning the winning film was produced by the producer a the jury member, in an undisclosed conflict of interest.
The above situations raises concerns about conflicts of interest and favouritism, where the same individual or their connected entities are involved in multiple roles such as a producer, distributor, consultant, and award-giver or recipient, potentially influencing the selection and award processes. This can undermine the integrity of the competition and the fairness of the selection and awarding processes.
Please note that Wim Vanacker and Ben Vandendaele are both from Belgium.
Raw information:
| NISI MASA | Short film jury 2017 | ||
| Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic (Croatia) | |||
| Aristotelis Maragkos (Greece) | |||
| Daria Vlasova (Russia) | Thanked for help on this film for which Ben Vanderdaele/Bekke Films was co- producer and sales agent http://www.deerboy.pl/en | ||
| Marijana Verhoef (Serbia) | |||
| Marija Fridinovaitė (Lithuania) | Film by her previous? production company was selected. previousy worked with producer of another selected film | ||
| Ola Jankowska (Poland) | Thanked for help on Deer Boy, for which Ben Vandendaele is sales agent | ||
| Eoin Maher (Dublin) | |||
| Franco Dipietro (Italy) | |||
| Gábor Osváth (Hungary) | His own film was selected | ||
| Tom Floyd (N Ireland) | |||
| Wim Vanacker (Dublin) | |||
| Thelyia Petraki (Greece) | |||
| Jérôme Nunes (France) | Connected to Bekke Films. Got a “thanks” credit on “Joy Palace” which was co-produced by Bekke Films. https://www.facebook.com/BekkeFilms/posts/973830642665937 Bekke Films shared a Page — feeling excited with Jerome Nunes and 4 others at Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds. May 15, 2016 · Brussels, Belgium · | ||
| Koen de Jongh (Netherlands) | |||
| Kostas Tagalakis (Greece) | |||
| Final selection short film 2017 | Producer | ||
| Aya– Samuel Sultana, Stephanie Sant (Malta/France) | Shadeena Entertainment Martin Bonnici (TLF decision maker 2012) | ||
| Blood Group – Daan Bunnik (Netherlands) | Bunnik’s own Production company: PRPL | ||
| Encountering Samir– Rand Beiruty (Jordan/Germany) | None | Won ESP grant from Interforum Berlin 2016: https://www.interfilm.de/en/festival2016/interforum/script-pitch.html | |
| Fluid Border– Joana Vogdt (Germany) | Fayal Omer, Miko Film (Hamburg) & Joana Vogdt (Berlin) | ||
| Golden Minutes– Saulius Baradinskas, Titas Laucius (Lithuania) | Viktorija Seniut (Viktoria Films), Martynas Mickenas (Baltic Productions) Co-Producer: Mirta Puhlovski (Slavica Film) | JURY MEMBER Marija Fridinovaitė worked for Baltic Productions. She also worked for NISI MASA at the same time in other capacities:  | |
| Hospitalities– Ronan Posnic (France) | None | ||
| Hunt– Senad Šahmanovic, Claudia Bottino (Montenegro/Belgium) | Ben Vandendaele (Belgium), Senad Sahmanovic (Montenegro) | ||
| Lazarus– Emanuele Milasi (Italy) | None | ||
| Riga’s Lilac– Lizete Upite (Latvia) | Richard Van Den Boom Papy 3D (France) | ||
| The Figurant– Kamila Dohnalova, Jan Vejnar (Czech Republic) | Kamila Dohnalová Silk Films | ||
| The Nipple Whisperer– Jan Van Dyck (Belgium) | Ben Vandendaele Handelskaai Bekke Films | ||
| The Shift– Luka Popadic (Switzerland, Serbia) | Ognjen Glavonic / Franziska Sonder Non Aligned Films, Serbia & Radar Film GmbH, Switzerland | ||
| The Silence of the Dying Fish– Vasilis Kekatos (Greece) | Eleni Kossyfidou Blackbird Production | ||
| Tina and Sandy– Hani Damazet (Croatia) | Mirta Puhlovski slavica film | ||
| Under the volcano there is always a man sleeping– Sameh Alaa (Egypt/Belgium) | Muhammad Taymour, Metropolis | ||
| Vesela loves chocolate– Stefka Mancheva (Bulgaria | Vanya Rainova Portokal | ||
| work in progess pitch | |||
| BANALITY Balazs Simonyi – Hungary | Gabor Osvath, Nora Alfoldi Filmfabriq | Gabor Osvath is on the 2017 jury | |
| BATHHOUSE Laurynas BareiĹĄa – Lithuania | Klementina Remeikaite (Afterschool) | Klementina previously worked with jury member Marija Fridinovaitė | |
| GABRIEL Oren Gerner – Israel / France | Melissa Malinbaum Why Not Productions | ||
| I’LL PROBABLY NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN Mitja Mlakar – Slovenia | Mojca Pernat Filmfactory | ||
| MALVA AND LESHY Marcin Karolewski – Poland | Olga Cyganiak Juice Ltd | ||
| ESP Selection Committee 2018 | |||
| Emanuele Milasi (Italy) | |||
| Eoin Maher (Ireland, UK) | |||
| Jan Vejnar (Czech Republic) | |||
| Jerome Nunes (France) | |||
| Kostas Tagalakis (Greece) | Worked as location manager on film “Sto Spiti” in which Marisha Triantafyllidou was an actress | ||
| Lizete Upite (Latvia) | |||
| Marija Fridinovaite (Lithuania, France) | |||
| Mitja Mlakar (Slovenia) | |||
| Rand Beiruty (Jordan, Germany) | |||
| Wim Vanacker (Belgium, France) | |||
| ESP 2018 CONSULTANTS | Ben Vandendaele | ||
| David Verdurme | |||
| ESP Final Selection 2018 | Producer | ||
| Beyond the River– Galaxy Spanos (Greece, Switzerland) | Maria Repousi Wholewave | ||
| Deer– Istvan Hevesi (Hungary) | László Józsa, Speak Easy Project, Focus Fox | ||
| Divine in his creatures– Katarina Stankovic (Serbia) | None | ||
| Drawing Shadows– Maxence Vassilyevitch (France) | Les Films de la Capitaine – Laurine Pelassy (France) | Pelassy produced Memoria, a film selected in ESP 2016 | |
| Elena– Birutė Sodeikaitė (Lithuania) | Agne Adomene, Artshot | ||
| Gila Who Walks Alone– Yuval Shapira (Romania, Israel) | Ilya Marcus | ||
| Home Sweet Home– Michalina Fabijanska, Agata Puszcz (Poland) | Katarzyna Fukacz, Tito Productions | ||
| Maissa– Lea Triboulet (France, Spain) | None | ||
| Pale Saint– Rhys Jones (UK, Ireland) | Alexander Polunin | ||
| Rizi– Stella Kyriakopoulos, Marisha Triantafyllidou (Greece, Spain) | Fani Skartouli Either/Or Productions | ||
| Sedra– Judita Gamulin (Croatia) | Rea Rajčić, Eclectica (Croatia) | ||
| The Inheritance– Mihnea Rares Hantiu (Romania) | Oana Furdea | ||
| the Rudeness of a German Lady– Silva Capin (Croatia) | Rea Rajčić, Eclectica (Croatia) | ||
| Trampoline– Kristian Sjerbo (Denmark) | Maria Moller Kjeldgaard Production company: Manna Film (Denmark) Co-producer: Mélissa Malinbaum, Face Nord Films (France) | ||
| Vegeance Of The Vixens– Leander Hanssen, Niels Snoek (Belgium) | Bekke Films | ||
| When bodies fall from the sky– Yenni Lee (Norway | Ronny Fritsche Zentropa Sweden and Nina Barbosa (Barbosa Film) | ||
| Work in progress pitch | Eva -Xheni Alushi (Albania / Switzerland) | Noah Bohnert, LetterBox Collective (Switzerland) | |
| QUXUROBA – Teymur Gambarov (Azerbaijan / Russia) | Memuar Films, Fil Production,Etienne Ricaud | ||
| Soy tu Papa – Garrick J Lauterbach (The Netherlands / Switzerland / Mexico) | Noah Bohnert,Letterbox Collective, Fidelio Films (Mexico) | ||
| TINA & SENDY Hani Domazet (Croatia) | Mirta Puhlovski, Slavica Film | Film was in final selection NISI MASA 2017 | |
| ESP Winners 2018 | |||
| Best Pitch | THE INHERITANCE by Mihnea Rares Hantiu – Romania | ||
| THE RUDENESS OF A GERMAN LADY by Silva Capin – Croatia | |||
| VENGEANCE OF THE VIXENS by Leander Hanssen Jr – Belgium | Bekke films | ||
| The Aubagne International Film Festival award | ELENA by Biruté Sodeikaité – Lithuania | ||
| Gear award by 2K4K Film Rental Waclaw Maczynski | DIVINE IN HIS CREATURES by Katarina Stankovic – Serbia | ||
| Works-in-Progress Awards | |||
| Distribution Award – Radiator IP Sales – Ben Vandendaele (Belgium) | QUXUROBA by Teymur Gambarov – Azerbaijan/Russia | ||
| Image Award Poznanska Wytwornia Filmowa (Poznan Motion Pictures) – Anita Trzyna providing image postproduction (Poland) | QUXUROBA by Teymur Gambarov – Azerbaijan/Russia | ||
| Mastering award – The Fridge (Belgium) | QUXUROBA by Teymur Gambarov – Azerbaijan/Russia |
SOURCES:
With unwavering support from our community, Film Industry Watch proudly announces the creation of a $25,000 Whistleblower Fund. This pivotal initiative is devoted to identifying and exposing corruption and misconduct in the film industry. Our aim is to cultivate an atmosphere of transparency and accountability, ensuring an equitable and principled environment for all industry members. We encourage anyone aware of criminal activities or misconduct to reach out to us confidentially. Rest assured, your identity will be protected. Reports leading to articles posted on this website, significant organizational changes or legal proceedings will be eligible for a financial reward for between $100 to $5000 for each report.
We hold a special focus on Film Festivals, Screenwriting Labs, various awards, and public Film Funds. It’s important to remind our readers that these entities are predominantly supported by public funding, which necessitates a standard of fairness and transparency in their operations.
Stand with us in our quest for integrity in the film industry – your voice matters.
Sources:
https://issuu.com/emiliep/docs/esp_book-projects_2016