The film industry enjoys the best social status and strategic approach in the CR (see chapters 2.4 and 7.2.2.). With the adoption of the Act on Audio-visual Works and Support for Cinematography (at the end of 2012), the Czech Film Fund was transformed and now represents a complex and very well-structured and transparent support system with clear criteria and one that is moreover not dependent solely on the state budget. The Czech Film Fund supports all stages of film production, as well as promotion, distribution, and other film-related areas.
The Czech Film Fund has a wide range of financial resources available to it, such as fees for broadcasting advertising, audio-visual fees, the 1% of cinema ticket sales revenues it receives, revenue from the using of cinematographic works for which the Fund is the copyright holder (among others, revenue from the use of works created between 1965 and 1991), revenue from audio-visual services on demand (from 2016) and more. Also the state budget injects finance into the fund to support Czech cinematography and for the administration of the fund and provides subsidies to incentivise the film industry.
Film-industry incentives, which have existed in the CR since 2010, allow producers to recoup one-tenth of their expenditures for foreign actors and crew members and one-fifth of goods and services costs. These incentives draw large foreign production companies and international stars to the CR. They take into account the exponential economic impact of the local expenditures of foreign crews that spend money in the CR on film shoots, accommodation, restaurants, transport, and renting locations, etc., and for 2013 the state set aside a record 500 million CZK for incentives and, in 2014 as much as 800 million CZK. In 2019 the state’s contribution for film incentives was 800 million CZK and the total income of the Fund amounted to 1.236 million CZK.
In 2021, the turnover of foreign projects in the CR amounted to CZK 8.73 billion (70% of the total turnover of the audiovisual industry).
The state gives CZK 800 million a year in film incentives, but the interest of filmmakers is so great that the money is not enough. Filmmakers have long called for a systemic change and warned that foreign crews will leave for other countries.
A part of the Fund is the Czech Film Centre and the Czech Film Commission. The Czech Film Center promotes and markets Czech films and the local film industry worldwide. It collaborates with major international film festivals and co-production platforms and utilises a global network of partners, seeking opportunities for creative exchange between Czech filmmakers and their international counterparts.
The Czech Film Commission promotes the country and its film infrastructure as one of the world’s top destinations for audiovisual production. As a comprehensive resource for filming in the CR, the commission provides incoming filmmakers with consultation, guidance, and contacts.
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