The tour in the Hradec Kralove and Pardubice regions took place on October 11 and 12, 2022, and were organized by the East Bohemia Film Office in cooperation with the Czech Film Commission.
“The selection of locations was varied, ranging from the First Republic palace to an active prison. It showcased locations with high film production value and gave me a clear overview of potential shooting locations, their accessibility, and costs. From a creative point of view, it was truly an inspiring experience. I was able to visit places that correlate aesthetically to some of my current projects, and that was priceless,” said one of the participants, producer and screenwriter Edgar Ortiz.
Photo: Czech Film Commission
CSOB Regional Headquarters, Hradec Kralove
The four-storey building for 1,000 employees was completed in 2021. The offices are equipped with state-of-the-art technology; there are several ministudios designed for virtual bankers and relaxation zones. On the two underground levels, there is parking for 300 cars, as well as the building’s operations facilities. There are nine elevators in the building, including a freight elevator. CSOB built its regional headquarters on the banks of the Elbe River, over which a pedestrian footbridge is currently under construction.
Hradec Kralove Prison
The 300-inmate prison is housed together with the Regional Court in a pentagonal building built in 1935. The management is film friendly. The spaces available for filming include smaller and larger cells with older iron furniture and more modern wooden furniture, corridors, courtyards, and the staff cafeteria.
Zacler Mine
The mining museum presents the history of the coal mine, which dates to the late 16th century. In the 1930s, it was modernized with steam engines, and mining took place here until 1992. It includes the chain cloakroom, operations building, shaft building, the 52 m high pithead, coal processing plant, the 100 m long Jitrenka adit, a coal seam, and a machine room.
Zacler Mining Colony
This housing colony was intended to house miners who worked at the local mine. Some of the single-storey houses were renovated without considering their historical value. Another part has been demolished. The remaining houses are in bad condition – some are inhabited, but the majority are empty. The municipality owns the colony.
Former prison in Zacler
The two-storey rectangular building from the 1960s functioned as a prison until 1989. Prisoners worked in the local mine. In the 1990s, it briefly housed the Foreigners’ Police, which vacated the building in 1995. Since then, the building has remained empty. The interior comprises prison cells, other prison spaces, and police offices. It is currently in the hands of a private owner looking for meaningful use for it.
Villa Cerych
The modernist villa, built in the mid-1920s and designed by architect Otakar Novotny, stands in the middle of a large garden with a stone-lined pool, fountain, and the remains of wooden gazebos. At the center of the house is a beautiful two-story hall with a fireplace and a wooden gallery. The listed villa in Ceska Skalice is privately owned.
House of Music, Pardubice
Built in the 1980s as the headquarters of the Communist Party, the Pardubice Conservatory now manages the six-storey building. It offers three halls of various sizes, an organ and dance hall, classrooms, and offices. In 2019-2020, the interiors, outdoor areas, and technologies, including sound and lighting, were renovated.
Slatinany Chateau
The original Baroque chateau, updated to Classicist style, underwent extensive renovation between 2015 and 2020. The 16-hectare English park with a small lake and a children’s farm – small timbered buildings designed to educate children – was also revitalized. Interesting interiors in the chateau include the kitchen, boiler room, servants’ quarters, spiral staircase, and bedrooms.
Kabelac’s Mill
Below the chateau in Slatinany there is an empty old mill by the bank of the Chrudimka River. The building is owned by the town, which plans to rebuild it into a cultural centre. The yard is currently used as a parking lot.
Bar Kulna
This new building near Slatinany stands on the banks of the Chrudimka River in the middle of the Skrovady sandstone rocks, a frequent destination for tourists and climbers. The single-storey building sensitively blends into its surroundings. The owner currently offers accommodation in two rooms on the first floor with balconies and beautiful countryside views and runs a restaurant on the ground floor.
Konopac Campsite
The extensive complex developed after 1968 around the original First Republic swimming pool with wooden cabins, which still stands here. In the middle of the pond, which has reinforced dikes, there is an island, and a slide leads into the pond. The complex includes residential cabins, a reception office, and a building with hotel rooms for rent, with a restaurant on the ground floor during the summer.
Town Hall, Pardubice
Built at the end of the 19th century, the Neo-Renaissance town hall underwent a thorough renovation in 2019. There are historic corridors, staircases, and halls, as well as modern halls, common rooms, and offices.
Regional Authority, Pardubice
The office was built in 2010 by adapting a late-19th-century former school. In the labyrinth of long corridors, offices and conference rooms, there are historically valuable wood-paneled rooms, stone staircases, and modern offices.
Contact for filming in the East Bohemia region:
East Bohemia Film Office, Lucie Ondrackova (l.ondrackova@vychodnicechy.info, +420 725 702 651)
Photo: Czech Film Commission
The mission of regional film offices is to attract audiovisual projects to their regions and to be a reliable source of information for Czech producers.
One of the main tools to draw filmmakers’ attention to the region’s film-friendly locations is the location tour, which is organized for Czech film professionals, from producers and location managers to directors, writers, cinematographers and film architects, by the regional film office in cooperation with the Czech Film Commission.
A representative of the regional film office connects filmmakers with property managers and owners. A location tour is often the first step towards further inspections for a specific audiovisual work in pre-production.
A photographer specializing in architecture, landscape, and location photography is on hand on the location tour. The resulting photographs are then used to promote the film-friendly locations both by the regional film office and the Czech Film Commission for promotional activities aimed at foreign filmmakers and are actively offered when specific requests from abroad are received.