With the Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s Industry Days section well underway, today marks the unveiling of its novel KVIFF Central Stage showcase wher
With the Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s Industry Days section well underway, today marks the unveiling of its novel KVIFF Central Stage showcase where some 14 projects from eight different Central European countries, all at various stages of development, will seek co-production and financing opportunities. Projects include works from established filmmakers such as Andreas Horvath, Nader Saeivar and László Csuja.
The industry program is putting a spotlight on the future of co-productions in Central Europe this year. Many Czech and CEE indie producers often turn to co-productions in order to access multiple avenues of financing and ultimately get their projects off of the ground. As KVIFF Central Stage unfolds, Deadline asked some of the region’s major players to give us the lay of the land of the co-production space while also touching on the role streamers in the region. Take a look below.
Marek Novák, Producer/Founder of Prague-based outfit Xova Film
DEADLINE: How would you describe the current situation for producers in Central Europe at the moment?
MAREK NOVÁK: If I talk about the current situation, I have to look at the past 11 or so years since I founded my company and have been doing this. I think it’s only better than it was and now there is a transformative point with the novel Czech Audiovisual Fund. I think there is a lot of expectation and maybe some uncertainties about whether all of the expectations will be fulfilled with the amount of selective support for feature films and how it is going to be divided, but I am positive and hopeful that it will sell for a more sustainable industry, which I think is what we need.
DEADLINE: What are the co-production opportunities like and what can be done to further improve co-production opportunities in the region?
NOVÁK: Co-productions are a very European thing, and I think it’s actually more crucial than ever. It has evolved but for me as a producer, it’s about the right people. You have to feel good about spending time with that person and you have to have a similar vision of the project and of course it matters where the opportunities – original and financial – are in certain territories. But if you feel good about spending time with that person and if you have the same taste and you have a similar vision of the project, that’s a good way for co-productions.
But I think it would be reasonable and more helpful, in many ways, if there were less strict rules on co-production financing. For example, if you have a multi-territory project and you have to fulfil certain points, it’s not always straightforward and strict rules around structuring can sometimes be harmful to the original elements. If there were less strict rules around how you spend the money, it would make the whole process easier and give more original freedom. Why should it matter if you have a makeup artist from Belgium and you like to sound mix in Romania or Hungary?
DEADLINE: What do you think are the major issues facing CEE producers today? And how are they different from producers in other regions?
NOVÁK: The challenge for me is to figure out what is defining our time and space and what are the stories that can reflect it in the best way and trying to figure out who we are and what could be engaging to show about us to the world and our cultural identity. Finding our own voice and then translating that into stories that will resonate abroad.
The Czech New Wave was such a attractive moment in our cultural history, and I do think that it’s because of the sincerity and honesty that the filmmakers were able to look at themselves and society and find the stories that are so Czech. I think it’s very crucial that we ask ourselves questions like: What will people abroad think? Does this make sense? Will it travel? It’s more and more crucial and I think progressively it’s becoming something natural for us to reflect on in our work.
DEADLINE: There has been chatter among the industry that streamers are looking to CEE as the next massive market. Is this what you are hearing? What kinds of opportunities does this bring?
NOVÁK: My understanding is they are not interested in our region and our markets because of the language limitations. Yes, there is a Netflix office in Warsaw, but Poland has 40 million people. Czech Republic has 11 million people. I heard they did some development with producers on some content, but nothing has materialized. Canal+ has opened a Czech branch and released two dramas so far – Daughter of a Nation and Moloch. That’s a very engaging gap they are filling because HBO Europe has since ceased to produce original content. But there is a place for a streamer like that to do unconventional, high-quality content.
There is also Czech service Oneplay, which was once part of TV Nova. They do invest a lot in original production. They are filling a certain market segment and doing a lot of true crime, and they are targeting mostly local audiences, similar to their TV audience.
Dagmar Sedláčová, Producer Of Czech Cannes entry Caravan
‘Caravan’
DEADLINE: How would you describe the current situation for producers in Central Europe at the moment?
SEDLÁČOVÁ: The novel restructure of the Czech Audiovisual Fund is invigorating. I hope it will work well for us because now it will be divided among the massive screen and tiny screen, so it opens up some opportunities to bring in potential partners not only for cinema, but also for television, which is crucial to be able to produce more ambitious projects. That is the biggest challenge of being a producer in the CEE region – we are a network of tiny countries and if you want to do a bigger, more ambitious projects, you are dependent on co-productions in order to acquire bigger budgets.
While co-productions are something that can, on one hand be an opportunity because it broadens the project’s reach, it’s also very time consuming and really tricky and risky. It takes time and is logistically very hard. For Caravan, it was a Czech-Slovakia-Italian co-production, shot entirely in Italy. The budget was €2.2M and there were 15 different sources of financing from national funds, TV broadcasters, presales, Eurimages, Creative Media and more. While these funds were the reason we were able to produce the project, it was a long process. There was five years of development and it took three years from financing to shoot and delivery.
With [director] Zusana [Kirchnerová], Caravan was such a personal story to her and while she didn’t lose her drive, if the process of financing didn’t take so long, she could have developed and shot another project. In the Czech Republic, we have the talent, but because of the financing challenges, it’s very tricky. But I do understand that we are a tiny region with tiny resources, especially when it comes to distribution and broadcasting
There is a good system with Slovakia, where if both countries have at least 30% of the project, they can share it, and it can be a majority production for them. With Caravan, it wasn’t a minority co-production but the Slovak producer applied as a majority film which meant he was able to gain more money from the system than if it was a minority co-production, which meant we got €340,000 under the Czech Film Fund and about €300,000 from the Slovakian fund, which was great support in that you can get money from both countries.
DEADLINE: There has been chatter among the industry that streamers are looking to CEE as the next massive market. Is this what you are hearing? What kinds of opportunities does this bring?
SEDLÁČOVÁ: On the one hand, it’s great because they finance all the projects and the process is much faster, which is good for you and great for talent because they can work more. But for us, as producers, it’s a tricky game because of IP retention. Streamers are buying the IP and then you have no retention of rights because producers will lose their library. It’s hard to survive as an independent producer if the streamers keep IP.
Mike Downey, Producer & CEO Downey Ink & Chairman of European Film Academy
DEADLINE: How would you describe the current situation for producers in Central Europe at the moment?
DOWNEY: The plethora of cottage industries that have sprung up around the idea of international co-production and European co-production would seem to indicate that the market is alive and kicking – this is possibly the result of many industry-ites seeing these byproducts of the production universe as an end in themselves. The fact is there are many variables which cause the ups and downs the length and breadth of Europe, whether it would be political instability, occasional government defaulting on tax credit payments the move to populism and the right indicating a potential spending cuts in culture, student unrest and demonstrations, safety issues in the face of risk averse runaway American productions…the list is endless.
It’s not all doom and gloom however, despite the TACO-threats of the current incumbent of the White House, and studios across Europe, the UK and Ireland are working very often to capacity and to the point that in some countries, crews are difficult to come by because the whole labour force is in work. So, it’s business as usual – meaning things are in constant flux and stability is the key.
DEADLINE: What are the co-production opportunities like and what can be done to further improve co-production opportunities in the region?
DOWNEY: Pretty much every country in Europe has its doors open to co-production and many now are grappling with the crucial issues of the balance between crafting stories with local authenticity and ensuring they foster international appeal. This, along with getting a return on investment seem to be the key element in backing films and TV shows that will appeal to the market. So, the opportunities to be there as a lead producer and as a minority co-producer.
We have had extraordinary success working with the Czech Republic on three films directed by Agnieszka Holland, Charlatan (Czechia’s Academy Award nom at the 93rd Awards), Green Border (won the Special Jury Prize at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023). and Franz, a collage of the life of Franz Kafka a co-production between Czechia, Germany and Poland which is headed for some of the world’s major autumn international festivals and on which I have had the great privilege to work as executive producer. I have seen it grow since the early ideas of Marek Epstein the writer, through to its finishing and going out into the world in the next few months.
This latter a real natural co-production: Franz was from Prague, he wrote in German and Agnieszka is Polish. I made a lot of films in Georgia – I would do it again as soon as stability returns. Whether the talent would follow is another matter. In terms of improving co-pro-opportunities – I would look towards the funds to make their decision making less onerous and more limpid as well as speed up the process with rolling deadlines and pliant systems. The most crucial thing in the long term will be working towards and homogenisation of film fund rules in Central Europe and across Europe. It is a intricate issue with various perspectives.
While some argue for greater standardization to facilitate co-productions and streamline funding processes, others emphasize the importance of preserving national cultural identities and specific local needs through distinct funding mechanisms. The European Union’s MEDIA program and national film funds play a significant role in this landscape, as does Eurimages, aiming to balance support for diverse European cinema with the realities of a competitive global market. The UK remains a tiny player, despite recent efforts by the BFI to make up for decades of neglect in the wake of the closure of British Screen and the European co-production fund a quarter of a century ago.
‘Franz’
DEADLINE: There has been chatter among the industry that streamers are looking to CEE as the next massive market. Is this what you are hearing? What kinds of opportunities does this bring?
DOWNEY: This is already happening. CEE is emerging as a region of interest for international streaming platforms and content creators. This is due to a combination of factors, including the relatively untapped potential of the market, the growing popularity of streaming services in the region, and the potential for localized content creation in the context of increased economic status and development of the market in a more commercial, less “auteurist” direction. While some CEE countries like Poland are seeing significant investment in original series from international streamers, many other nations in the region represent a largely untapped market with a diverse range of languages, cultures, and preferences and are ripe for investment.
The challenges are exactly where you point to- the concern about IP retention – but this is a Europe wide problem. It’s what makes UK partners of the US streamers so vulnerable. If, for example, Trump’s 100% tariffs became a reality, it would kill the business outright. In European co-productions with U.S. majors and streamers, intellectual property ownership is a point of contention. While European producers and policymakers are pushing for greater control over IP rights, U.S. streaming platforms often retain ownership, raising concerns about European cultural heritage and economic value. We can but hope that the EU comes to its sense and puts its foot down. If one looks closely into the intricacies of the European funding systems, we see a frustratingly convoluted network of relationships among various artistic and cultural stakeholders, constantly grappling with an overwhelming array of rules and regulations. Equally the digital world and globalization of our industry has changed at grass root level the ecosystem of our business as well as the key principles underpinning the entire value chain of film and television.
These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
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