The amendment was approved by the government in June 2024 and is waiting for parliamentary approval. The new law is expected to be adopted by the end of 2024 and to take effect in January 2025.
“It is essential that the percentage of incentives in the Czech Republic be increased to at least 25%, and the cap significantly raised,“ said Czech national film commissioner Pavlína Žipková, who operates under the roof of the Czech Film Fund.
According to APA, the Czech audiovisual industry reached a turnover of 532 m EUR / 13.5 billion CZK in 2023, which is a decrease of 12% compared to the record year 2022. The main reason for this is the decline in foreign production.
Revenues from original Czech production increased to a record 82.76 m EUR / 2.1 billion CZK, while foreign production revenues reached 362.5 m EUR / 9.2 billion CZK in 2023, with 18% less than in 2022. This is a result of a year-long suspension of the incentives due to an overloading of the system, as well as the writers' and actors' strike in the USA.
„Although the incentive system had historically the most funds, the high demand for filming in the Czech Republic overloaded and blocked the system. Thanks to APA's appeal and in agreement with the government and the Czech Film Fund, it was possible to push through a mini-amendment to the Audiovisual Act that simplified the system, and the incentives reopened on 3 January 2024. The Czech Republic is now 'open' again," said APA Chairman Vratislav Šlajer in a statement.
The amendment to the Audiovisual Act will transform the Czech Film Fund into the Czech Audiovisual Fund, and will extend selective support for TV and VOD production, as well as for the gaming industry, and it will also provide improvements to the production incentive system.
Film incentives in the Czech Republic now amount to 20%, which is less than in comparable regions: 33% in Slovakia, and 30% in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Lithuania.
The up to date information on production incentives is available at the Czech Film Commission website: https://www.filmcommission.cz/en/production-incentives/
