Czech authorities plan tax rebate law for films
Authorities are preparing to put the Czech Republic on a par with its Central European neighbors by establishing tax exemptions for foreign films - but not before 2009. The so-called…
Viasat catches handball rights in Hungary and Slovenia
Viasat Broadcasting (www.viasatworld.com), a European satellite broadcaster, has obtained the exclusive rights to air the next five seasons of the EHF Champions League for handball in Hungary and Slovenia.
Defiance filming in Lithuania at end of August
Defiance, a U.S. film directed by Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond), will begin filming in Lithuania at the end August for six weeks. Daniel Craig, hot off his success in Casino…
Baltic countries seeing future box office growth
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are expected to face serious growth in film admissions, according to U.K.-based cinema business researchers Dodona Research (http://www.dodona.co.uk). They announced the results of their study, titled…
TVP1 retains its lead in Polish audience share
The average Pole spent two hours and 47 minutes before a TV screen daily in July, according to a new survey by the TNS OBOP agency (www.tns-global.pl). That represents a…
Eastern Europe featured at EU Film Week in South Africa
Several films from Central and Eastern Europe will be shown at the EU Film Week in Durban, South Africa.The festival begins Aug. 17 and ends Aug. 23.
IPTV competition heats up in Czech Republic
Volny (http://web.volny.cz ), a telecommunications company in the Czech Republic, has announced the launch of its new IPTV service. Titled Volny TV, the service offers 40 foreign and national stations…
CME looks poised to bid for Top TV
Central European Media Enterprises looks poised to bid for Czech TV channel Top TV as part of a renewed acquisition spree according to media analysts.
Jerzy Skolimowski plans new project
Jerzy Skolimowski, a Polish director permanently residing in the U.S.A., plans to stand behind the camera again with Cztery noce z Anna (Four Nights with Anna). It is a story…
Era New Horizons festival declares winners
The Era New Horizons International Film Festival, in Wroclaw, Poland, came to a close on July 29. The international jury composed of Ron Havilio, an Israeli film director; Marina Fabbri,…
Granada sells 400 hours of programming to Eastern Europe
Granada International (www.granadamedia.com/international), a distribution company based in the U.K., announced the sale of 400 hours worth of dramas to Eastern and Central European broadcasters.
Cyprus launches info-packed Internet TV site
The Press Information Office and Foreign Ministry of Cyprus have just launched a Web site (www.cyprusonfilm.com) dedicated to informing viewers of various aspects of culture, politics and life in Cyprus.
Eastern Europe upgrading swiftly to digital TV
Eastern Europe is making great strides in the upgrade to digital television, according to a new report by the London-based research company Informa Telecoms & Media, which predicts the number…
Life becomes film for famous Czech prisoner
Jiri Kajinek, the most famous Czech prisoner of all time, will be celebrated in a Czech feature thriller called Kajinek, with a €1.4 million budget. Ivan Fila, a Golden Globe…
Polish co-production competing at Venice Film Festival
Nightwatching, directed by Peter Greenaway, has been selected as one of the 21 films in main competition at the Venice Film Festival (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema) . The film, about the painter Rembrandt…
Budget cut hits Karlovy Vary
Just as the Czech film fund recently faced a budget cut that still needs to be fully resolved, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is also suffering a budget cut,…
Multimedia Polska acquires 15 cable networks
Multimedia Polska, a leading Polish provider of “triple play” packages of TV, voice and broadband internet service, has acquired 15 cable TV networks in northern Poland for 40.9 million zloties…
Slovenian Culture Ministry trying to mend Film Fund
Slovenia’s Ministry of Culture says it is striving to mend divisions over the Slovenian Film Fund, which has been mired in controversy for months leading to the resignation or dismissal…
EC endorses DVB-H standard for mobile TV
The European Commission has endorsed a standard for digital video broadcasting backed by Nokia called DVB-H for use as the single European standard for mobile TV.
Cinema City makes third multiplex investment in Bulgaria
IT Sofia BV, a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Cinema City International NV, has signed an agreement to purchase a 60,000-square-meter plot in Russe, Bulgaria, to build a trading center that…
