The launch of the new Hungarian National Film Fund saw the first results of its funding in 2013, ending a long drought in Hungarian film production. Foreign film production continued to be a strong presence in Hungary.

Slovenia’s film production has remained fairly stable, despite the 2012 recession and government budget cuts as well astax increases in 2013 as the government scrambled to prop up its mostly state-owned banks. But the distribution and exhibition sectors are challenged by falling attendance and late digitalisation of screens.

Croatia is seeing a boom in domestic and international production. Local films are becoming box office hits, and a film cash rebate introduced in 2012 is expected to reap even bigger rewards following the country’s admission to the EU in mid-2013.

The opening of the Lithuanian Film Centre in 2012 reaped its first fruits in 2013, despite limited public funding available for domestic production.

The adoption of the new Czech film law has been a mixed blessing for the Czech film industry. Funding for the film industry was delayed as the government awaited approval from the European Commission, creating a backlog of producers waiting for state grants.

Upheaval on the film and cultural scene, including three ministers of culture and two directors of Bulgaria’s National Film Centre, along with political changes in government, were felt in Bulgaria’s film industry. Film production was down, while relative stability in the TV sector encouraged an increase in the production of TV series.

Polish film production has moved to the top ranks of the CEE film industry, thanks to the commitment to film funding through the Polish Film Institute and a strong system of regional film funds. However, Poland continues to lag behind its CEE neighbors in introducing film incentives for foreign productions.

Although Cyprus has a population of 1.13m and is only slightly smaller than Estonia and nearly triple the population of its Mediterranean neighbour Malta, the country is still developing as a producer of domestic films or as a destination for foreign film production.

Lukas Pribyl, director of the Forgotten Transports series of documentaries, is working on a portrait of Czech expatriate H.G. Skilling.