But as the Czechs embraced capitalism and prosperity
grew, so did filming costs. And, when other upstarts
across Eastern Europe started luring producers with
juicy tax breaks, Prague no longer looked like the only
game in town. “The Czechs were just too slow to offer tax
incentives,” Hughes shrugs. “By the time they realised
what was going on, it was too late. Everybody had moved
on, to Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia.” The 2008 credit
crunch only made matters worse, pulling the plug on
everybody’s financing, not merely in Prague.
As unsexy as it sounds, tax breaks are the principle
reason why, in today’s leaner market, that studios are
returning. The Czech government introduced a scheme in
2010 – a rebate of up to 20% on in-country expenditure –
and it seems to be working. “Of course, it didn’t come
overnight,” says Ludmila Claussova, who works for the
Czech Film Commission and lobbied for the incentive.
“The producers were happy in Hungary and those other
countries. You have to bring them back, but this year has
been really good again,” she adds, referring to the likes of
Child 44
, Ridley Scott’s forthcoming spy film, Danish epic
1864
,
The Musketeers
and
Borgia
. “All those productions
could have gone to Hungary or anywhere else, but I think
the locations here are better.”
“We filmedin 1,700
locations. Therewas
nothingwe didn’t
shoot, no placewe
couldn’t get to”
SVĚTLA, KAMERA, AKCE!
The Czech Film Commission’s must-see movies
OSTŘE SLEDOVANÉ VLAKY, 1966
This story of young man working
at a train station during WWII
won the Best Foreign Language
Oscar in 1968 and is a great example of Czechoslovak
NewWave.
TRI ORISKY PRO POPELKU, 1973
Broadcast on Christmas Day every
year, this popular fairy tale makes
the most of romantic, snow-covered
locations such as Moritzburg Castle.
KOLYA, 1996
An Oscar-winning film set in 1980s
Prague. It centres on a man whose
life is changed by the arrival of a
young boy. The latter role was played by Andrej
Chalimona, whose performance steals the show.
»
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PHOTOS
ALAMY, ALLSTAR, BFI, GETTY, REX FEATURES
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C E L L U L O I D C I T Y
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