The Prague Film Fund, founded by the Czech in December 2016, will receive a donation of CZK 10,000,000 to support the positive presentation of Prague abroad through film and television productions. The Prague City Council today approved the relevant documentation, submitted by City Councilor for culture Jan Wolf. The Fund’s first call for grant applications was opened on 1 May 2017.

“We understand the positive cumulative effects of audio-visual production, which is reflected in the economic benefits to the city and state budget, and in terms employment and increasing interest in Prague as a tourist destination,” Wolf said.

Since the introduction of incentives in 2010, the volume of foreign film production in the Czech Republic has increased more than fivefold to about 4 billion crowns, which is the cost to foreign production in the Czech Republic for services and goods related to filming.

The capital city decided to combine and make use of both developments, that is the rise in foreign production in the Czech Republic and trends in the marketing of destinations, and founded the endowment fund. It aims to support the positive presentation of Prague abroad through film and television, attracting projects with marketing potential and their use to promote Prague, profiling the city as a “film friendly” destination that recognizes the multiple benefits that audiovisual production bring.

The foundation has published the first call for applications for grants and set the deadline for submitting applications for 1- 31 May 2017. The total amount of funds available through the call is 9,000,000 crowns.

The call is for projects intended for foreign distribution (feature films, TV films and series) wherein Prague represents the actual city. Applications can be submitted only for projects which began filming between 1 January 2016 and 30 June 2017. Foreign productions may apply for foundation grants, according to conditions approved by the Fund’s articles of association, through an authorized Czech entity or through Czech co-producers involved in international film projects.