Prague, Jan 18 (CTK) – The European Union (EU) programmes earmarked almost ten million euros for culture projects with Czech participation last year, which was some three million euros more than the year before, the Creative Europe Czech office’s representatives have told reporters.
However, the whole sum did not go to the Czech Republic. This happened only in the case of the programme Creative Europe-Media that divided more than 2.5 million euros among Czech applications for film support in 2017.
The Creative Europe programme funds projects in the sphere of theatre, plastic arts, literature, film, television, music, interdisciplinary art, culture heritage and video-games in 2014-2020. A total of 1.462 billion euros were allocated to the programme in the respective period.
Out of the sum, 56 percent go to its partial Media programme in support of cinematography and audiovisual industry, 31 percent to the Culture programme and 13 percent to the interdisciplinary section.
Last year, primarily film projects with Czech participation succeeded in seeking EU funds, while film producers won higher support than distributors for the first time. Czech film producers drew almost one million euros for 26 films in total.
The highest sum of 190,000 euros went to the Negativ production company for five films, including The Expulsion of Gerta Schnirch (Vyhnani Gerty Schnirch), an adaptation of Czech novel by Katerina Tuckova telling a story of a German girl expelled from Brno after WWII, film biography Drtikol of Czech avant-garde photographer Frantisek Drtikol (1883-1961), and National Avenue (Narodni trida) based on a novel by Jaroslav Rudis.
Czech film distributors won 660,000 euros from the EU funds in total last year. The EU programmes supported the Febiofest International Film Festival, the One World Humanitarian Documentary Film Festival in Prague, the Anifilm International Festival of Animated Film in Trebon, south Bohemia, and the International Documentary Film Festival in Jihlava, south Moravia.
Last year, 40 percent of film producers succeeded with their applications for EU subsidies, while it was mostly about 25 percent in the past years.
The Creative Europe-Culture gave more than seven million euros to culture and creative projects, in which 15 Czech organisations participated, mostly those with several foreign partners involved, Eva Zakova, from its Czech office, said.
The Czech Republic solely submitted 19 applications for financial support in two categories, but none of them won support. However, some Czech culture institutions succeeded as partners in international projects, for instance, the national theatres in Prague and Brno and the Continuo and Leti theatres.
