The current opportunities for film and series development in Central and Eastern Europe was one of the key topics discussed during the first day of the Eastern Promises industry program mounted at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
In the panel hosted by Deadline as part of the Industry Days program, Šlajer was joined by Łukasz Kłuskiewicz, Director, Film Licensing and Co-Productions at Netflix, Klára Brachtlová, Chief External Affairs Officer at CME , Radim Špaček, Vice-chairman of the Association of Czech Audiovisual Directors and Screenwriters , Přemysl Martinek, consultant for the Czech Film Fund, and Petr Dvořák, CEO Vodafone Czech Republic, who made a brief cameo.
“It’s really difficult sometimes to get paid,” he said. “That’s why for authors, it’s very important that state funds like the Czech Film Fund are offering funds. This is important because if the author receives payment they can apply themselves and really work on a project.” Netflix opened an operational base in Warsaw, Poland, in 2022 but has been acquiring and licensing locally in Eastern and Central Europe since 2019. During that time, Kłuskiewicz said the company has acquired over 260 films through licensing.