Petr Szczepanik and Martin Horyna prepared, in cooperation with the Audiovisual Producers’ Association, a study on the opportunities and barriers of cross-border distribution of Czech film

The study is an output of contract research conducted between the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and the Audiovisual Producers’ Association, and in addition to the main authors, other members of the CIRG research team (Lucie Česálková, Ivan David, Jan Hanzlík, Veronika Lengálová, Raman Samusevich, and Pavel Zahrádka) also contributed to its development.

The study How Czech Audiovisual Content (Does Not) Travel Abroad synthesizes data on audiovisual exports, insights from international gatekeepers, and practical recommendations on how to bring Czech films and series more frequently to foreign audiences. The quantitative part of the analysis shows that the Czech audiovisual industry has long ranked among the EU’s “small” exporters, but does not differ significantly from other Central and Eastern European countries (except Poland). In recent years, children’s films and arthouse animated films, as well as internationally co-produced biopics with relatively high budgets—especially those involving internationally recognized names—have been the most successful in foreign theatrical distribution. However, the experimental part of the analysis reveals unmet demand in both European and non-European territories for more commercial genre content, including crime and comedy or family-oriented series.

 

The study primarily focuses on how Czech audiovisual content is perceived by foreign gatekeepers. International sales agents, distributors, and festival curators appreciate the craftsmanship, the stable institutional environment, and animation, but criticize a lack of bold visions, “overly local” themes, and the absence of a recognizable brand of contemporary Czech cinema. In television distribution, decisions are shaped by the specific expectations of major sales companies and broadcasters, for whom most Czech production lacks sufficient production value and appears too locally oriented.

 

Post–COVID-19 trends further reduce the chances of successful sales. In the “mid-range segment,” license fees and minimum guarantees have declined, while attention and revenues have concentrated on a smaller group of auteur names and hit titles. For content from the region, sales agents increasingly opt for all-rights deals and abandon territory-by-territory sales; streamers in Central and Eastern Europe (again except Poland) purchase content almost exclusively for local use rather than for export. In terms of content, clear narratives with a strong commercial “hook” and lighter tones perform better, while dark and depressing themes fare even worse than before the pandemic.

 

Gatekeepers recommend starting with audience design and involving foreign partners already at the development stage. Development should focus on boldness and originality of storytelling and visual style in arthouse projects, and on the expectations of business partners (broadcast windows, target audiences) in more commercial production. Concretely, this means, for example, limiting “local” period dramas in film and television, strengthening serial crime and thriller formats with international production value, or, alternatively, developing lower-budget but return-oriented formats aligned with buyers’ demand. Public funding bodies should strategically focus on supporting minority co-productions, and producers should systematically build their brands.

 

Produced in collaboration between the research team of the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and the Audiovisual Producers’ Association, the study offers a realistic view of the position of Czech audiovisual content in the European market and of its perception by key gatekeepers. Drawing on interviews with these actors, it formulates recommendations for increasing exportability across the various stages of production and distribution.