It’s time to “Check the Czechs” as the new Audiovisual Fund comes into force.
“That’s what it says on my T-shirt. You should ‘check the Czechs’ because we are ready. There’re lots of good producers, so let’s go,” teased Vratislav Šlajer, chairman of the Association of Audiovisual Producers.
During the Berlinale panel, CEO of the Czech Audiovisual Fund Helena Bezděk Fraňková introduced the audience to the new legislation. The country’s production incentive will now go up to 25% – as opposed to 20% – and to 35% for digital production and animation.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s for the big or small screen,” she said. With the cap per project raised to €18 million ($17.3 million), the whole process will be streamlined into two parts from January 2026.
“It should be easier,” added Bezděk Fraňková, mentioning more categories of selective support: “We will support small screen [projects] in development and in production, and we have a category called ‘infrastructure’: That will include cinemas, film festivals, education. And then we have one category for video games and animation.”
Once approved by the government, detailed guidelines could be in place “in the middle or in the second half of 2025.” You can find more about the new fund here.
In the meantime, the Czech Republic still has plenty to offer, especially at the Barrandov Studios, argued its CEO Petr Tichý. The studio has recently welcomed “The Empress,” “The Wheel of Time” – “one of the biggest projects shot in the country” – and “Nosferatu,” which earned Beatrice Brentnerová Oscar nom for production design.
“If you are deciding where to shoot your project, the experience of all these artisans could be really helpful to you,” said Tichý. “Now, we are shooting [miniseries] “Blade Runner 2099.” All these service companies and these artisans, they’re ready.”
Despite competition from Hungary or Canada, Barrandov Studios has invested “almost one billion CZK” ($41.2 million) to build new stages. “It will bring us to 70 stages, because we have two locations. Now is the time to make our industry better.”
Vratislav Šlajer’s also “very, very happy” about the new “better” fund.
“We’ve been modernizing our fund for 10 years and it really brought stability to the system. The Czech audiovisual sector has grown: there’s lots of new talent and new approaches to storytelling. We all know that now, cinema and the small screen coexist. It’s great that the fund will support the series.”
Having a stable fund and stable tax incentives is “good news” for the industry.
“Good vibes only,” he said.
“Of course, there are things we have to solve, and scaling is one of them. I would expect more talent coming in and more international cooperation – not only on a financial, but also creative basis. I think the big thing is that we now have this special section for animation and video games. It’s a necessity for the future.”
The budget of the fund might double in the future, he observed.
“There’s going to be more money. [The initiative] was supported across the political spectrum. Even though we have elections this fall, there is this agreement that the audiovisual sector is very important.”
While Czech Republic is still “on the top of the list” when it comes to shooting spots “because of the artisans, the incentives and the locations,” said Tichý.
The industry is aware that the investment bubble is over.
Šlajer said: “These big, typically U.S. platforms were spending a lot of money. Now, the numbers have dropped and the 2023 strikes only sped that up. But there are still many opportunities, because that ‘bubble’ was huge. Even a drop by 40% leaves you with a lot of money.”
“We have talent, we have experience, we are able to deliver high production value and stories that can be understood globally. We are ready to be competitive. You can basically shoot anything you want in the Czech Republic. And if the location doesn’t exist, you can go to Barrandov Studios and build it.”
As long as you remember one thing. “Be creative, but not too much. Especially if you apply,” said Bezděk Fraňková.
