“There will be no good films.” CT did not raise the fee. Director Marhoul warns

Since, according to director Václav Marhoul, “politicians are afraid to somehow increase” concession fees by 15 crowns, according to him, this will mean that “simpler films” will be made. “Absolutely absurd,” he assessed for Czech Radio, that because of this Czech Television (ČT) had to cut back and announced the reduction of its support for filmmakers by half.

The creator of the film The Painted Bird, about a small boy who travels alone somewhere in the Eastern European countryside during the Second World War, believes that for the international success of the film, it is necessary to have an original subject.

According to Marhoul, to be successful at the Venice Film Festival, it is necessary for the given film to be professionally made and interesting in terms of its subject matter. “It doesn’t have to be such a hot topic. It just has to be a strong story,” summarized for Czech Radio.

Regarding the financial aspect, he noted that the production of the film “is a really financially complex matter”. “The fund really cannot order good original fabrics. The other side of the coin is what Czech filmmakers want to convey, what they carry in their hearts, what they carry in their souls, how they approach it as authors and how they want to process the topic at all. That’s the fundamental problem and it’s quite a complex tangle,” said director Marhoul.

According to him, it is difficult to put together even twenty million for the creation of the company, while it is five million less than, according to him, what is needed for an “average” film today. It is said that a cheaper film hardly gets into the main competition of the most prestigious festivals.

Marhoul assesses the reduction of the budget of the Czech Television to support Czech films quite critically. “ČT is reducing the volume of co-production of Czech films because – and I find it absolutely absurd – politicians are afraid of somehow increasing the mandatory contribution by 15 crowns. “Czech Television stops having money,” he explained what is the cause of the cuts. According to him, a smaller amount of funding will mean the creation of “simpler films”, which he says will only try to recover costs.

“It’s really very bad news. Of course, the less good films will be made and the more simpler films will be made. To tell the truth, without Czech Television, an ambitious film will hardly survive, you can’t put it together without it,” he added to the step, after which filmmakers can still apply for funding from the State Cinematography Fund as well.

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