The Cine Technician (1943 - 1945)

•<\ T III'. CI N E T E C H X I (' I A N -October, 1945 CZECHOSLOVAKIA LOOKS AHEAD A Message from A.C.T. Member Kurt Goldberger Well, I have now finally arrived hack in Prague, which luckily is but little harmed by the war as far as the city is concerned. Of course, the Germans have been careful to steal everything from us, so that there is nothing left to be bought in the simps and the black market price of one cigarette is 2") crowns, as compared with 3 francs in France. Of food there is very little, but the morale is much better than I found in Western Europe, and politically the position is as good as we could hope it to be. The Left is in control and people seem to be pleased with it, and although we are nnh three weeks after liberation there is more activity as far as getting things in order than there was, almost a year after liberation, in Western Europe, where J have been lor tbe last five months. l!\ the way, our studios are unharmed, and fully equipped. I have hail no chance to look them over yet, but there are eleven stages in one studio on Barrandow. a hill near Prague, two of them bigger than any other in Europe, and the whole is supposed to be the most modern and largest on the European continent. They are certainly an asset, and the Germans had no chance to take anything. The new Government has already reorganised the film industry as the following newspaper article shows : — The film generally in the new stale has been incorporated into the Ministry of Information. The Chief of this section is Viteslav Nezval (the )nost famous Czech living poet and novelist). His Advisory Body is the Czechoslovak Film Con?icil which has as members representatives of all the branches of the industry, as well as the Ministry of Education, tiie Board of Trade, the Institute lor the Furtherance of Cultural Relations with the USSR, the film production group, and the Film Workers Union. The executive organs of the Czechoslovak Film Council will he the following four committees: — (1) Committee for Dramatic Art. (2) Artistic Technical Committee. {.]) Policy Committee. (4) Press Committee. All production of motion pictures has been put into the hands of the FIRST CZECH COMPANY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MOTION PICTURES, which runs all the existing studios and production groups. For Slovakia there is a parallel company. Distribution is centralised and stale controlled. Directly state owned and operated are the newsreel company, documentary and instructional units, and the state institute for Exhibition, of which one department is the administration of State Cinemas, also administration of mobile projection units, works cinemas, school cinemas end substandard in general. The Czechoslovak Film Institute trains artistic and technical workers, administrates the film archives and library, and the film press. The Administration of State Cinemas will look after all cinemas on Czechoslovak territory. There will be no privately owned cinemas, the reason for which -will be obvious to all citizens considering the important role the film has to play in the life of the nation. You see, they are doing the job good and proper. The plan has a very strong economic ba->i^. The production facilities are large, the overheads will be enormous and for a relatively limited market prohibitive, if profits fell into private hands. As it is. profit on distribution and showings will go back towards production and studio upkei p. and no money will get lost in financial machinations of any kind. All our large scale enterprises, especially the ones which worked for the Germans, have been taken over by works committees, which bad been formed secretly during the occupation, and any collaborators were removed at once. In doubtful cases the bosses have been suspended pending the examination of their cases. Important works will be taken over by the State for good, while oth< rs might he returned to their owners, who will operate them under similar control to the Essential Works Order in England. All production in the studios was suspended, and a proper clean-up of personnel carried through, while new scripts and schedules are prepared and will go into production as soon as possible. As tar as 1 can gather the only bottleneck is stock, which has not been produced in this country, and was wholly imported from Germany. The reserves of neg. seem to be sufficient for some time, but there is very little positive, which will have to be imported, until we can construct our own Mini factories. The cinemas are relatively small and not a inaiix a in England, but the first one 1 saw in Pilzen. which was the first large city 1 came to. had the latest Philips gear installed, which looked a- modern as any I have seen in the We-t Mild and the reproduction was first-rate. As tar as the question of technicians i con (Continued mi previous page)