Six new EU states have lower VAT rates for culture

European Union laws permit reduced VAT rates for cultural activities, and half of the 12 new EU member states apply them. Here is a listing of VAT rates on audiovisual…
29-01-2008

Competition launched for new Solidarity film

The European Solidarity Centre and the Polish Film Institute have launched an open competition for a script about the Solidarity movement and its international impact. The prize for the winning…
29-01-2008

Time to Die travels to US, Europe

Dorota Kędzierzawska's and Arthur Reinhart's newest film Time to Die is being showcased this week at its fourth international film festival in a month. The film will have three showings…
28-01-2008

ScripTeast participants prepare for Berlinale session

Participants in the second edition of the ScripTeast scriptwriting workshops are gearing up for the next stage to be held Feb. 9-12 at the Berlin International Film Festival during which…
28-01-2008

Czech Republic back on U.S. anti-piracy Watch List

The Czech Republic has been put back on the U.S. Trade Representative's Watch List after eight years, amid concerns about a lack of progress in efforts to fight piracy. Among…
27-01-2008

IRIS Merlin legal database becomes more user-friendly

Filmmakers now have several new ways to obtain legal information on the audiovisual sector in Europe. According to analysts at the European Audiovisual Laboratory, part of the Council of Europe…
27-01-2008

Saviours Square wins top honours in Trieste

Saviour's Square (Plac Zbawiciela), a contemporary Polish drama by Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze, took top honours at the Trieste International Film Festival which closed Thursday (Jan. 24). The jury…
24-01-2008

Hungarian Film Week announces competition

Eighteen titles are competing for the Golden Reel Award during the 39th Hungarian Film Week which kicks off Jan. 29. The festival, which runs through Feb. 5, will also host…
24-01-2008

International shoot about Russian dissident starts in Poland

Within the Whirlwind, an international production directed by Oscar laureate Marleen Gorris, began shooting Jan. 24 in Poland. The movie's screenplay is based on the bestselling autobiography of famous Russian…
24-01-2008

Czech cinema sales, attendance figures for 2007

Among Czech distributors, Falcon a.s. (www.falcon.cz) was the leader in 2007 with 394.3 million crowns (€15 million) in sales, according to figures provided by the Czech Film Distributors' Association. Second…
24-01-2008

Unique documentary Citizen Havel opens Jan. 31

One of the most original and unusual entries in the 2008 Czech film portfolio is the full-length documentary Citizen Havel, an intimate portrait of the former Czech president that was…
23-01-2008

Roosters Breakfast tops 140,000 admissions

The director of Rooster's Breakfast, the biggest Slovenian box office hit in the last four years, says he's surprised by the film's success. Director Marko Nabersnik picked up the Great…
23-01-2008

Krakow introduces Regional Film Funds concept

Krakow is hosting the first international congress devoted to Regional Film Funds in Poland today and tomorrow (Jan. 24-25). The National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers (KIPA) and the Polish Film…
23-01-2008

Czech cinemas had record sales in 2007

Czech cinemas took in an all-time record 1.2 billion crowns in sales in 2007, according to Czech Film Distributors ' Association (www.ufd.cz), and attendance was the highest since 1994. About…
23-01-2008

Katyn gains Oscar nomination (update)

Katyń, a personal odyssey for famed Polish director Andrzej Wajda about the massacre of 20,000 Polish officers and citizens during World War II, has captured one of the five nominations…
22-01-2008

New film about murdered pro-Solidarity priest

Filming is under way for a biopic about Jerzy Popiełuszko, the popular pro-Solidarity priest who was murdered by Poland's communist secret police in 1984. Agnieszka Holland's To Kill a Priest…
22-01-2008

Katyn gains Oscar nomination

Katyń, a personal odyssey for famed Polish director Andrzej Wajda about the massacre of 20,000 Polish officers during World War II, has captured one of the five nominations for an…
21-01-2008

Polish Film Institute hands out first of new annual awards

The Polish Film Institute handed out the first of what will become annual awards for professionals involved in various segments of the film industry at a gala ceremony Monday night…
21-01-2008

Three Estonian films make domestic Top 10 in 2007

Three domestic films landed in the Estonian cinema box office Top 10 in 2007, making it one of the most successful years for the country's film industry. The three features…
21-01-2008

Lithuania boosts film funding by one-third in 2008

The Lithuanian Ministry of Culture is boosting the state film funding budget by one-third in 2008, according to the Lithuanian Film Council. During 2007, the Culture Ministry considered about 100…
21-01-2008