Under the amendment approved earlier this week the Czech State Cinematography Fund should receive around 200m CZK annually from the state budget according to the Czech news agency CTK.
In 2016 around 180m CZK should go to the production of Czech films according to Czech Minnister of Culture Daniel Herman. The amendment is still to be debated in the parliament but is already being hailed as a victory by the Czech film industry.
The amendment also provides greater transparency in the funding process by making the assessment of the film projects public and requiring members of the film council to defend their decisions.
The amendment also addresses the system of film incentives making it easier for foreign productions to access funding. According to a statement by the Czech Film Commission the changes in the Act on Audiovisual Works mean that the rebate will no longer be subject to a yearly cap. Producers will be able to register at any time. The Czech incentives scheme, administrated by the State Cinematography Fund, offers filmmakers a 20% rebate on qualifying Czech spend and 10% on qualifying international spend. The rebate is available to theatrical features, TV films and episodes, animated films and documentaries. In 2015 up to 800m CZK will go to film incentives.