Exhibitor and distributor Aerofilms remains hopeful.

The arthouse distributor, which launched Waste, City and Death (Odpad mesto smrt) 22 November 2012 in both theatrical and download formats, said tickets sold have numbered around 1,000 with some 20 digital viewings. While those numbers are "tiny," said Aero's Ivo Andrle, they are "as expected."   The simultaneous theatrical and VOD release of art films has been hotly debated by arthouse distributors across Europe.

Download audiences, which most distributors in the region have been struggling to monetise, will take time to build but the sector is certainly growing, Andrle believes. "We are sure that, especially on VOD, the audience is there."

The project is Hrebejk's filmed adaption of a stage production by Dusan Parizek, which was in turn developed from a Fassbinder script about a young girl forced into prostitution but struggling to find her escape through a mysterious wealthy stranger.

Waste, City and Death is produced by Prague based Prvni Verejnopravni (www.cestmir.cz)

Trailer: www.odpad-mesto-smrt.cz