TEPLICE: The main jury of the 12^th edition of Anifest which closed on 1 May 2013 chose not to award a prize in the Best Animated Feature Film category. Jury members told FNE it was “an ethical decision.” 

PRAGUE: An apparent natural gas explosion in central Prague on 29 April 2013 near FAMU film school, resulting in a reported 40 injuries, has closed down the school for the remainder of the week.

PLZEN: Soon-to-be FAMU graduate Tomas Vach charmed the audience of industry professionals at the Czech Film Center presentation of upcoming films at the Finale Plzen with his pitch of a Czech-German comedy, Julius Schmitke, now in production.

PLZEN: Festival director Ivan Jachim was unfortunately sidelined due to illness for the duration of the 26^th Finale Plzen festival of Czech films which concluded on 27 April 2013. 

TREBON: Two American films, two Spanish films and one Czech films are among the ten film selected to compete in the adult animation and the children’s animation sections at the 4^th edition of Anifilm, running 3-8 May 2013 in the South Bohemian spa town of Trebon.  

PLZEN: Fair Play, a Communist era sports drama written and directed by Andrea Sedlackova, completes filming on Monday, 30 April 2013, and moves into postproduction on Tuesday.

PLZEN: Regional filmmaking in the Czech Republic is bursting with new-found interest from local city and district offices gearing up to establish local film commissions and even provide funding grants.

PLZEN: Jan Maxa, Head of Programme Development at Czech Television (CTV), told audiences at the Industry Section of the Finale film festival in Plzen that CTV established co-development, pre-sales and minority coproduction strategies in a station-wide overhaul.

PLZEN: Days after her film Made in Ash screened in the main competition of the Finale Plzen, debuting Slovak director Iveta Grofova finds her tough and tender film in competition at the 10^th Crossing Europe festival, which runs through 28 April 2013 in Linz. 

PLZEN: Producer Ales Hudsky, attending the Finale Plzen film festival for the presentation of upcoming Czech films on 26 April 2013, told FNE that his international coproduction has moved into postproduction following the completion of final filming in Mexico in mid-April.