Finally we won't be yesterday! So such opinions may finally begin to emerge after that the Czech government on Wednesday 26 June 2024 approved a proposal for an amendment to the law “No. 496/2012 Coll., on audiovisual works and the support of cinematography and on the amendment of certain laws (audiovision law)“.
What does this mean in a nutshell? Existing The State Cinematography Fund will be transformed into the State Audiovisual Fund. The state will thus financially support and subsidize not only the creation of films (or films and filmmakers), as was the case before, but also television, animation, VOD (streaming) and gaming industry.
“An important part of the proposal, which the government managed to push through today, is certainly the support of game creators and the entire game industry. It is a high value added area and we are successful in it as a country, but the previous governments were not interested in maintaining this position. At the same time, in other European Union countries, similar funds have helped the gaming industry to kick off, and there is no reason why the Czech Republic should be left behind.Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš from Pirátů commented on the situation.
Television, cinemas and streaming services will contribute two percent of their annual revenue to the fund, with “at least 50% of the total annual investment must be directed to co-production with independent producers or to the purchase of usage rights from independent producers,” as the statement of the Ministry of Culture describes in more detail.
It is also interesting to mention that a maximum of 10% of this can be spent on the Czech localization of international content.
Together with the new law, a board of directors will be established, in which payers from private entities will be represented, for example, side by side with representatives of the ministries of culture and finance, who will jointly approve decisions, proposals and subsidy calls.
The validity of the new fund is calculated from January 1, 2025.