Visegrad Special: Czech Coproductions in 2011 

PRAGUE: Increasing the number of international coproduction is an acknowledged goal for most Czech producers and 2011 saw the Czech film industry take steps in that direction.  Domestically produced commercial comedies score huge local audiences, but the number of more artistically and topically challenging projects is slowly increasing with 200m CZK (8m euro) in support from the Czech Film Fund and an additional 300m CZK for foreign coproductions.

"For Czech producers looking for minority foreign coproducers on their projects, it is still difficult to persuade production companies, broadcasters and foreign funds to participate. But it is also a question of experience, knowledge, contacts and self-confidence and that is developing," explains Pavel Strnad, The Chairman of Association of Producers in Audiovisuality in Czech Republic (www.asociaceproducentu.cz). 

Strnad´s company Negativ (www.negativ.cz) shot their two biggest films of the year as coproductions. Tomáš Luňák´s animation film Alois Nebel shown at Venice out of competition was a 65 percent /25 percent /10 percent coproduction between the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia. The second film (still in production), the 1.6m  euro fairy tale Blue Tiger by Tereza Horváthová and Petr Oukropec was a coproduction between Negativ, German's Blinker Filmproduktion (www.blinkerfilm.de), and Slovakia's Arina (www.arinafilm.sk). 

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FNE Visegrad 2011 Country Profile: Czech Republic

The 2011 year offered some surprizes, with the arrival of new foreign TV productions while the audience share for Czech films fell to 17 percent in the first five months - a shock to the local industry, after 2010‘s record high of 4.7 millions viewers for local hits. It wasn't until summer when two hits - Bioscop‘s historical war drama Lidice from producer Adam Dvořák (www.bioscop.cz) and Men in Hope by filmmaker Jiří Vejdělek and Tomáš Hoffman´s Infinity Prague - brought audiences back to Czech films, with each film topping 400,000 spectators. Another topic in the news was the debate over the proposal for the long-awaited cinema law which will be heading for a vote in the Czech parliament in October.

The State Fund for Support and Development of Czech Cinematography which is the main source of film financing is to end in November. The public broadcaster Czech Television (www.ceskatelevize.cz) will stop paying some 150 milions CZK a year (6 million euro) from advertising income into the State Fund. Czechs desperately need a new cinema law, changes to the State Fund for Cinema, and new cash flow for film projects, festivals, and digitalisation of cinemas in 2012.

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FNE at DISCOP Budapest 2011: Czech Republic 

PRAGUE: The Czech television market has always been defined by one overriding characteristic: the loyalty of Czech audiences to original domestic production, especially long-running TV series cast with popular local actors. In the ratings, original Czech series consistently beat even global smash hits, such as Sex and the City, Friends, House or The Office. All three of the main TV stations - public broadcaster  Czech Television (www.ceskatelevize ) and commercial channels TV Nova (www.nova.cz, a member of the Central European Media Enterprises group of stations) and TV Prima (www.iprima.cz, part of the Modern Time Group, MTG) - produce their own series, sometimes in coproduction with their traditional partner, Slovakia. The popularity of all things local has evolved into domestic remakes of international hits, and even contemporary remakes of old communist era favourites. Now Czechs are waiting to see if their domestic productions can translate into international sales.

FNE 2010 Year in Review: Czechs Turn a Corner

With the approval of the highly anticipated film tax incentives, the return of foreign film production, continuing record box office attendance, and a wealth of film productions in the pipeline, 2010 was an important year for the Czech film industry.

Tax Incentives

Approval of film tax incentives had been was anticipated for more than five years by both Czech and international filmmakers . The European Union approved Czech film tax incentives in June. The proposal, which was first approved in October 2009 by the Czech government, allows foreign productions a rebate of up to 20% of the amount spent in the country. The Czech Ministry of Culture (www.mkcr.cz) budgeted CZK 400 million (16 million euros) for rebates in 2010 and had been awaiting the EU decision since January. 

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FNE Visegrad 2010 Country profile Czech Republic

The most important development in the Czech Republic was the approval of film tax incentives in 2010. The European Union approved the Czech film tax incentives in June, as announced by the Czech government on 18 June. The proposal, which was first approved in October 2009 by the Czech government, allows foreign productions a rebate of up to 20% of the amount spent in the country. The Czech Ministry of Culture (www.mkcr.cz) budgeted CZK 400 million (16 million euros) for rebates in 2010 and had been awaiting the EU decision since January. ¨

The Czech Ministry of Culture has already prepared film incentives for the foreign film prodcutions amounting to CZK 2 billion spent in the Czech Republic -- more than triple the amount spent by foreign productions in the Czech Republic in 2009.

 Czech Film Co-Productions 2010 

On average around 20 Czech full length feature films are released in Czech cinemas every year, most of them supported by grants from the Czech Ministry of Culture´s State fund for support and development of cinematography. However, in 2008 that number jumped to 38 and in 2009, a record 44 films were premiered. The increase was due to new film financing based on fees for new digital licenses, which extends through 2011. However, in 2010, film production is expected to decline below 2008 levels. As of October, just 27 films were produced in the Czech Republic. Support for film production and distribution was CZK 230 m, about the same as in 2009 (222.6m CZK).  

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FNE VISEGRAD FORUM: Czech film production and releases

Domestic films, particularly comedies, continued to outperform Hollywood at the box office in 2009.

On average 20-25 Czech full length feature films are released in Czech cinemas, most are supported by grants from the Czech Ministry of Culture´s State fund for support and development of cinematography. In 2009 support for film production and distribution was CZK 222.6 m about the same as in 2008. 

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FNE Visegrad Focus: Foreign productions in the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic has seen big budget foreign productions mostly dry up in 2009 following a long decline. In 2003, Hollywood and European filmmakers spent more than 5 bilion crowns in the Czech Republic. In 2008, the amount of the foreign investments dropped to only CZK 700 million as Hollywood production move to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and even the Ukraine driven away by the Czech Republic's lack of tax incentives.

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FNE VISEGRAD FORUM: Czechs host Institute of Documentary Film

For the past nine year, Prague's Institute of Documentary Film has been reaching out to CEE documentary directors and producers, promoting and enabling the rise of documentary films from across the region.

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