PRAGUE: The Czech Film Center together with the Czech Film Commission became part of the State Cinematography Fund, an institution that plays a key role in shaping the filmmaking environment in the Czech Republic.

PRAGUE: Director/producer Štěpán Altrichter develops a dark psycho thriller entitled Runner, taking over some of the motifs of the classical 1982 sci-fi thriller Blade Runner by Ridley Scott. The film will be another German/Czech coproduction after Altrichter’s debut feature Schmitke (2014).

PRAGUE: A Prominent Patient / Masaryk by Julius Ševčík became the absolute favourite at the 24th Czech Film and Television Academy Awards, winning 12 Czech Lions. I, Olga Hepnarová directed by Tomáš Weinreb and Petr Kazda received two awards.

PRAGUE: The drama The Catcher Was A Spy with Paul Rudd, Guy Pearce, Paul Giamatti and Jeff Daniels started shooting in Prague this week. The film produced by Animus Films, PalmStar Media, Serena Films and Windy Hill Pictures is directed by Ben Lewin and written by Robert Rodat, based on the book by Nicholas Dawidoff.

PRAGUE: One of the first foreign productions shooting on Czech locations this year has been The Aftermath, a US/UK film starring Kiera Knightley, Jason Clark, Alexander Skarsgard and Slovak born actress Caudia Vasekova.

The year 2016 was favorable for Czech cinema from the very beginning. Talented young director Ondřej Hudeček received the Special Jury Award for Best Direction at Sundance Film Festival for his short film Peacock, which was later among the finalists of the Student Academy Awards.

PRAGUE: Czech Television will begin filming a two-part film about Central Europe’s most significant monarch, the Empress Maria Theresa.

PRAGUE: Family Film by Olmo Omerzu was awarded best film at the Czech Critics´Awards 2016, while I, Olga Hepnarova by Petr Kazda and Tomáš Weinreb was awarded for best director. The ceremony took place on 28 January 2017.

PRAGUE: Czech box office reached its highest point in the country’s modern history in 2016 with 74 m EUR / 2.011 bl CZK, an increase of 12.65 m EUR / 342 m CZK compared to 2015. Admissions broke another record. They were 15.62 m, 2.664 m more than in 2015.

PRAGUE: Czech Film and Television Academy revealed the nominations for its 24th annual Czech Lion awards. A Prominent Patient / Masaryk, Anthropoid and The Teacher / Učitelka received most of the nominations.