PRAGUE: Václav Vorlíček, author of several classic Czech films, especially crazy comedies and fairy tales, has died at the age of 88.

PRAGUE: Robert Sedláček’s Jan Palach won the Czech Film Critics’ Award for best film, while the best director award went to Olmo Omerzu for his road movie Winter Flies / Všechno bude.

Czech cinema enjoyed domestic and international successes of both feature films and documentaries in 2018, with the Czech Film Fund effectively supporting the development and production of numerous quality films (including a strikingly high number of debut features), a growing number of coproductions, returning international film crews shooting on Czech locations and exceptional box office results.

PRAGUE: Toman by Ondřej Trojan tops the 26th edition of the Czech Lion awards with 13 nominations. The winners of the 26th Czech Lion awards, organised by the Czech Film and Television Academy, will be announced on 23 March 2019.

PRAGUE: The new NaFilM National Film Museum located in the very centre of Prague was opened for the public on 15 January 2019.

PRAGUE: The Czech/Slovak drama Jan Palach directed by Robert Sedláček got six nominations for the Czech Film Critics‘Awards. The awards will be announced on 2 February 2019.

PRAGUE: The Czech Film Fund will support the production of eight feature films with a total sum of 2,474,386 EUR / 64 m CZK. The highest support of 560,603 EUR / 14. 5m CZK was granted to the biopic Havel, directed and produced by Slávek Horák, which will cover Havel’s life from 1968 to 1989, when he was elected president of Czechoslovakia.

PRAGUE: Barrandov Studio will coproduce new projects by Agnieszka Holland, Zdeněk Jiráský and David Ondříček, and also an animated film by Denisa Grimmová and Jan Bubeníček in 2019.

PRAGUE: Ten debut films with an overall request for 50m CZK applied for support in the call for first films. The Czech Film Fund allocated 10 m CZK in total for this round.