Czech producers at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) are cautiously optimistic about the potential effects of the Czech audiovisual act, that will increase the country’s tax incentive from 20% to 25% (and 35% for post-production and animation) to attract international productions, and establish a national film fund, called the Czech Audiovisual Fund.
“The prospect of increased support has given us the confidence to move ahead with new projects,” said producer Karolina Davidova, who is developing Philippe Kastner’s upcoming animated mini-series Mould, presented at the KVIFF Talents strand of the industry programme.
Davidova also plans to make use of the new incentive on Inbetween Worlds, which was developed at La Residence in Cannes and she says will be an “ambitious” first feature for her company 13KA.
Hana Blaha Silarova of production firm Films and Chips is “positive” about the new act, which she thinks “will improve the position of our industry and Czech producers”.
“The new structure is more inclusive and creates a more sustainable environment for audiovisual creators of all formats,” said Jan Kallista, producer at Film Kolektiv, which made Robert Hloz’s 2023 sci-fi Restore Point.
Kallista said he sees the reforms as “significant for the development of both our current and future film and series projects. It allows us to plan more effectively and maintain a more stable and consistent creative talent pool. We are seeing an increase in demand for commissioned work, which strengthens our position in the market”.
Government update
As the national film fund has been closed since January to fully implement the funds, the country’s minister of culture Martin Baxa and minister of finance Zbynek Stanjura were in Karlovy Vary to update on progress. Baxa said the process of appointing a director of the fund to replace the departing Helena Bezdek Frankova will begin this summer and the hope is the fund will open in September.
Work is also starting on the Concept for the Development of Audiovisual Media, a strategic document determining the long-term priorities of the sector.
Stanjura reiterated previously announced figures, that 1.4bn Czech Koruna ($67m) will be available in the first year of the incentive, followed by 1.6bn ($76m) in its second year.
Closing down the fund has proved a challenge for Czech producers.
“There’s no development or production support being distributed, so not much dynamic movement with projects,” said Marek Novak, producer at Xova Film, which has made features including Cristina Grosan’s 2022 Giornate degli Autori title Ordinary Failures.
“There’s a lot of expectations, and project backlog, when the fund finally opens again.”
“It is a little frustrating to not be able to set up a calendar for your projects,” said Silarova, who is waiting for the new fund to open to start financing “a few documentary and animation projects.”
She is still sure the act was “necessary for our industry”, and is hopeful of more information on the fund soon.
“The beginning will be a little chaotic as every Czech producer is waiting with their projects,” said Silarova. “But after the dust settles, we should have a stable, well-financed fund that would be attracting more international co-productions.”
Ondrej Lukes of Czech company Beginners Mind won the Rotterdam Lab award at the Karlovy Vary Eastern Promises industry awards on Tuesday evening. “Hopefully the fund will reopen in a month,” said Lukes. “But as it hasn’t operated for almost nine months, so far it has only caused complications for us.”
The upcoming Czech parliamentary elections in October are not expected to affect the act’s progress, as it received cross-party support from 163 of 164 members of parliament last year, with the only abstention from a member who was in the toilet when the vote happened, according to Frankova.
Regardless, the act is already enshrined in law, preventing it from being easily repealed.
Streamer levy
The January reforms also included the introduction of levies, at 2% on cinema admissions and broadcasters, and on streaming platforms - a topic of discussion in many countries including the UK – at 3.5% on SVoD platforms of all sizes operating in the territory.
“The hope is there’ll be significantly more resources available for the support of local independent production, both big and small screen formats,” said Novak.
“The levies are too low, that is a letdown for me,” says Lukes. “[The platforms] have the opportunity to spend most of the percentage as a ‘direct investment’, creating their content here. So in the end, I don’t expect much cash to land in the fund’s accounts from these levies.”
Novak is more positive. “The platforms will be able to choose if they send the levy money partly to the Czech Audiovisual Fund and/or directly invest on acquisitions and commissioning of original production, so this may bring new opportunities for local content.”
“Let’s see how the levies versus investment in domestic content ratio will look,” said Silarova. “The levies from cinemas and broadcasters are rightfully set – they could always be higher of course, but there is a reasonable limit.” Kallista believes the levy contributions “will not only help produce more diverse and ambitious projects but will also contribute to nurturing a new generation of creative professionals.”
“It’s fair, and timely, that VOD platforms take on a more active role in supporting the local industry,” said Davidova. “We are ready to become strong, creative partners for them – as some of us already have been!”
KVIFF runs until Saturday, July 12.
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