Politicians from Prague made their presence known at the 59th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) on Tuesday as Czech Minister of Finance Zbyněk Stanjura and Czech Minister of Culture Martin Baxa were in the spa town to discuss the increase to Czech production incentives that came into effect at the start of the year during a press conference. There, the trend of rising competition for film and TV shoots and U.S. President Donald Trump’s relationship with Hollywood also became talking points.
As of January, the country’s production incentives rose from 20 percent to 25 percent, while the Czech rate for animated and digitally produced projects increased to 35 percent.
Asked about the competitive landscape of incentives, Stanjura said that any financial gap between what his country and other countries offer “is hopefully compensated by the quality of our infrastructure and our skilled professionals who know how to make a good film and good art,” according to an interpreter. “We also raised the cap for tax incentives, so I believe we have all the conditions to be successful.”
What will Trump’s talk of possible tariffs on foreign films and attempts to keep and attract more productions to the U.S., the Czech finance minister said: “In this regard, we have to see how the discussions go. It’s a known thing that Donald Trump doesn’t have a good relationship with Hollywood. And I believe that if you have good professionals and incentives, then you have something to offer.”
He emphasized that while incentives aren’t everything, not offering them is not an option. “If we said we’re not going to support this industry, it would be a disadvantage for our industry,” Stanjura said. “But I agree: the trend of rising incentives is inconvenient. I’m saying let’s not get into a war of incentives.”
Czech culture minister Baxa also expressed confidence in the mix of financial incentives and skilled crews available in the country. He also unveiled that an open call for a director of the new Czech Audiovisual Fund would go out soon, with an appointment expected in late November.
Also launched this year was a levy on all streaming platforms that operate in the Czech Republic, regardless of their country of origin. They must all start contributing 3.5 percent of their Czech revenue. That includes a minimum 1 percent levy, while the remaining 2.5 percent of revenue can either be contributed in the form of direct investment in Czech content or a higher levy.
“We don’t have any idea how much money we will get from the VOD platforms,” Baxa said, pointing out that the first round of contributions will only be assessed in the near future. The direct investment options include “Netflix making original content or acquiring a Czech film,” he explained. “That means we must wait for the first time they send us money.”
KVIFF kicked off on Friday and has so far welcomed such stars as Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard and Vicky Krieps, who all received its President’s Award. Michael Douglas also got surprised with a special statuette on its first weekend. The festival runs through July 12.
