13/03/2018 - An interview with producer Radim Procházka of Czech company Produkce Radim Procházka, one of the participants of Jihlava's 2018 Emerging Producers

An interview with producer Radim Procházka of Czech company Produkce Radim Procházka, one of the participants of Jihlava's 2018 Emerging Producers.

Why do you produce documentaries? Do you believe that they have the power to change the world?
Radim Procházka: When shifting from journalism to filmmaking many years ago I was fascinated by having the chance to spend more than just a few days and hours on a single topic, finding out that the evening news deadline isn‘t the most crucial date of my life.

Yes, I do believe in the power of documentary cinema, but I‘m not sure, if I can survive by relying on it too much. Revolutions aren’t well paid.

Sociologists call it "cognitive dissonance": film can start the process in our mind, which changes personal values, beliefs and ideas.

What do you think is the future of distribution of documentary films?
Last year‘s conflict between the Cannes FF and Netflix was a bit funny from the point of view  of CEE documentary-maker. For us it is so difficult to get to cinemas, and we have to deal with anyone who is interested in any kind of release of our films willing even to pay us. Near future will most probably combine all existing ways, tuning the strategy of each project based on its specific possibilities and goals. The growing VoD market would hopefully help to bridge the gap of incomes from TV market. Cinema release will survive as a prestigious «label» for our old-fashioned hobby.

What projects do you have under way?
Our main documentary project for the following two seasons is Roma Brexit by Tomáš Kratochvíl. Portrait of Czech and Slovak Roma threatened by Britain’s exit from the European Union. Tens of thousands of people have been escaping from discrimination in post-communist countries for the last 20 years. Having found a new home and hope in the UK, they are now again in danger of becoming second-class citizens. We are trying to set up Czech-Slovak-Welsh co-production with other this year’s Emerging Producers.

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Emerging Producers is a promotional and educational project, which brings together talented European documentary film producers. The programme is organised and curated by the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Deadline for applications to the Emerging Producers 2019 edition is 31 March, 2018. Click here.