The new consultant system ran into trouble from the very beginning precisely regarding its independence and integrity. Cultural Provocations: the Thorsen case and the avant-garde The Film Law and state support to Danish cinema worked as a bailout for the art form, but it could also be seen as government intervention into artistic freedom, which is why it was important that the DFI (Danish Film Institute) could work independently of the political power, the so-called 'at-arms-length' principle. The new film law also abolished the appropriation system whereby the ailing movie theatre industry became a free market. In 1988 there was an extra consultant used for short films and documentaries and from 1989, a consultant for short children's films and documentaries. In the early years there were two consultants for movies for adults and from 1976 on, one for children and youth films. This was done primarily through the so-called consultant scheme where state aid decisions were made by consultants, who were hired for two to three years.
For the first time film was directly placed in the state budget.
With the Film Law of 1972, the Film Fund was transformed into the Danish Film Institute (still part of the Ministry of Culture) from then on this became the organizational support tool for all national films.
