24-07-2007

Czech film premieres competing with each other

By Radovan Holub

    According to the leading Prague-based newspaper Hospodarske noviny, increased competition between Czech Republic films will be occurring soon due to the highest number of Czech films currently being produced in the post-socialistic era.

    As of now, some 40 Czech feature films are being shot or are already in post-production. Thanks to the €3.5 million subsidy which was injected to Czech film production directly from the national budget, Czech filmmakers have substantially more money at their disposal.A drawback of this increase in production is that film producers will soon be lacking comfortable terms for film openings. This fall and especially next year, Czech films will witness an unprecedented phenomenon: more than one Czech film will have to be opened during the same day.

    "Domestic films will probably steal audiences from each other," said Milos Rybacek, from the production company Fishstone (www.fishstone.cz).

    In previous years, when only 20 films in Czech were produced annually, a so-called "gentlemen's agreement" of fourteen days between domestic premieres was applied. Next year, ten films more will open as Czech producers have to spend the state injection from last October during this fiscal year, which will affect the Czech film industry.

    "It is a big problem," said Pavel Strnad, the head of the Czech Producers Association . "We do not have enough time space for the premiere of Czech films."

    The Czech film hassle is expected to heat up beginning from this October when three to four feature films, including Jakubisko