About Us

We're part of the Czech Film Fund. We promote the Czech Republic as a top destination for film productions and offer incoming and local filmmakers comprehensive information about the Czech audiovisual industry.

Mission and Services

We're an independent intermediary between local and international filmmakers on the one hand and institutions on the other. We connect foreign filmmakers with local partners, infrastructure, and municipal authorities and help them coordinate their activities.

We listen to the needs of film industry professionals and communicate those to municipal and state institutions to ensure the Czech Republic remains a competitive partner on a global level.

What We Offer International Filmmakers

information about the conditions and possibilities for filming in the Czech Republic, from required filming permits, to locations, to current legislation
connections with local partners, contact information for service suppliers
assistance with location scouting
assistance with communication with national and local offices
consultations regarding financing and opportunities for co-productions

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What We Offer Czech Filmmakers

support when negotiating with offices at the national and local levels
connections with local film friendly regions
information about film offices in Europe and the rest of the world and contacts to them
the opportunity to register with the largest database of Czech audiovisual industry contacts

What We Provide to Regions and Towns in the Czech Republic

assistance with promotion and marketing the region as a filming location
consultations regarding the foundation of regional film offices
training and methodological activities towards regional film offices
support in communications with filmmakers

We're Working to Improve Conditions for Filmmaking

To create a stable and friendly film environment that's competitive with other countries, we've put together manuals and recommendations in cooperation with various institutions and experts.

For example, together with the Audiovisual Producers' Association and the European Institute for Health and Safety in the Film Industry, we created a document entitled The Czech Republic in the Context of the Situation in Ukraine.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we produced self-regulatory recommendations that enabled filmmakers to return to the set quickly. Compared with other European countries, it was the shortest pause in filmmaking and our rules inspired film commissions all over the world.

We're a member of the European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN) and the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI).

Our Team

We're here for you! We'll answer your questions, put you in touch with the right people, arrange whatever you need, and negotiate on your behalf.

We look forward to working with you!

Pavlína Žipková

National Film Commissioner

Pavlína leads the Czech Film Commission as a national film commissioner. She represents the Czech Republic at international film festivals and markets. In 2020 she was elected President of the European Association of Film Commissions (EUFCN).

Pavlína has 20 years of experience as a producer and executive producer. She has produced documentaries such as Who Will Write Our History, directed by Roberta Grossman and produced by Nancy Spielberg, and Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh, which was shortlisted for the 2008 Academy Awards. She has also worked on the Emmy-winning documentary Joan of Arc by Pamela Mason Wagner and the successful horror film Hostel by Eli Roth. Pavlína studied creative writing and journalism at the Josef Škvorecký Literary Academy.

Jana Arora

Publicist, Social Networks

Jana is a publicist and social media specialist at the Czech Film Commission. She has experience in editorial work and journalism in the field of culture, tourism, and natural medicine. For several years she has been a copywriter, creating advertising texts in Czech and English for various formats, from corporate presentations on websites to radio and TV spots.

Jana worked for many years as a literary agent and represented foreign publishers and authors on the Czech, Slovak, and Slovenian book markets. As a member of the implementation team, she participated in the project of the Organization for the Integration of Minorities Živá knihovna with the logo "Don't judge a book by its cover". Jana studied theatre dramaturgy at DAMU and collaborated on several productions with director Vladimír Morávek.

Petra Marková

Locations, Location Tours

Petra is our internal location pro. She coordinates location tours, through which regional film offices introduce filmmakers to lesser-known locations across the Czech Republic.

Petra worked as a location manager and assistant on film and television shoots. She has worked on projects such as The Illusionist, Hannibal Rising, Henry IV, and Red Tails, produced by George Lucas. She also has extensive experience at an international consulting company where she prepared bids for public contracts. Petra studied directing and screenwriting at the Higher Vocational School of Film in Písek.

Czech Film Fund

The Czech Film Fund provides full support to domestic filmmaking and administers and provides production incentives.

It was established on 1 January 2013 on the basis of Act No. 496/2012 Coll. on Audiovisual Works and Support for Cinematography and on Amendments to Certain Acts (the Audiovisual Act) and replaced the original State Fund of the Czech Republic for the Support and Development of Czech Cinematography, which had been operating since 1992.

Primary Activities

The Czech Film Fund administers audiovisual fees, broadcasting advertising fees, and administrative fees under the Audiovisual Act.

keeps records in the field of audiovisual industry
provides support for cinematography
exercises the property rights of authors and performers attributable to the State under other legislation
exercises the rights of the producer of audiovisual works which have been transferred to its predecessor under another legal provision and the rights of the producer of sound and visual recordings which are due to it under another legal provision
assigns co-production status under the Convention or any other international film co-production treaty
provides production incentives
carries out activities provided for by other legislation

Production Incentives Program

The Czech Republic has been offering incentives for film and television production since June 2010. The aim of their introduction was to return the Czech film industry and cinematography to competitiveness in the European and international arena. The program was designed by the Ministry of Culture and is administered by the Czech Film Fund.

The incentives apply to both Czech and foreign audiovisual works shot in the Czech Republic and take the form of a refund of up to 20% of eligible costs spent on audiovisual production. The refund is paid directly to applicants by the State through the Czech Film Fund after the completion of the production in the Czech Republic.

This program guarantees that no aid amounting to 20% of eligible costs will be paid before the investor (i.e. the producer) has invested its own funds in Czech services and goods in the Czech Republic and subsequently audited the funds spent.

The incentives apply not only to films intended for distribution in cinemas but also to certain types of television production.

Partners

What Filmmaking Brings

Filming brings many benefits to the Czech Republic - here are the most important ones.

Economic Benefits

Audiovisual productions bring significant amounts of money into state and municipal budgets. Film crews stay in hotels, eat out, and hire transportation, local crews, actors, extras, rent locations, and more.

Moreover, the economic contribution of the film industry is not limited to the money directly spent on a film project; it has many indirect impacts on other economic sectors of the country in which the project is being made.

These impacts take the form of increased demand for a range of supply services as well as services not directly related to the production of the project (the "secondary effect").

The jobs created by production are further reflected in increased consumption and, ultimately, in government revenues through tax levies.

Tourism and Marketing Destinations

A film or TV program can showcase the various places of the region and raise awareness of the region among viewers/potential tourists. Through relevant campaigns, significant amounts of money can be brought into the region and spent by incoming tourists.

Linking tourism promotion campaigns with audiovisual works is an effective promotion option for many destinations. International examples (such as the UK, New Zealand, Tyrol in Austria, New York City, etc.) show that the effects of such linkages help to significantly reduce the costs of such campaigns and, above all, increase their effectiveness.

Employment and Job Opportunities

Film productions support local employment at the level of skilled, wage-intensive jobs. They indirectly support employment in associated services. Some specific occupations could disappear without film industry outlets.

Support for Culture

Incoming foreign productions allow for the professional growth and qualification of local film professionals. A healthy and busy film infrastructure provides more opportunities and outlets for domestic productions. The film industry indirectly supports and benefits other areas of culture.

History

The Czech Film Commission was founded as an initiative of the Audiovisual Producers' Association in 2004 as part of the non-profit organization Česká filmová komora, o.p.s. (Czech Chamber of Film) and from 2013 to 2016, it fell under the National Film Archive, a public interest organisation of the Ministry of Culture. On February 1, 2017, the Czech Film Commission came under the wing of the Czech Film Fund and became one of its departments.

Ludmila Claussová

First National Film Commissioner (2004-2020)

Ludmila was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Czech Film Commission in 2004, and gradually built it into a renowned film office. She was also part of the founding of the European Association of Film Offices (EUFCN) in 2007. Among other things, she was actively involved in negotiations on the introduction of production incentives and initiated the establishment of the first regional film offices in the Czech Republic. Ludmila led the Czech Film Commission for 16 years.

After relocating to southern Bohemia in spring 2020, she began working as the PR and marketing manager for the newly established destination management company for the Český Krumlov Region.