Czech prime minister lobbies in Hollywood

The Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, spoke to six major US film studios in Hollywood on Monday, in order to increase interest in filming in the Czech Republic.

Mr Sobotka’s speech was attended by representatives from Universal Studios, Warner Bros., Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox. The prime minister extolled his country’s high quality of filmmaking services and infrastructure, as well as wide variety of filming locations. In particular, he noted that filmmakers could find architecture from a range of eras, in addition to beautiful landscapes.

In his address, Mr Sobotka aimed also to allay fears regarding the potential risks of working in the Czech Republic, affirming that it is a stable and secure country. He explained that interest in the Czech Republic from American studios was particularly high in the early 1990s, but decreased due to the greater investment incentives available in other countries in the region.

The lower house of the Czech parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, approved an amendment in March that would see an increase in state funding for filmmaking and also provides for the increased transparency of the current system of incentives, in order to attract more foreign filmmakers to the country.

Source: Prague Daily Monitor