The Czech Film Commission received an important recognition from Brussels for its work. Pavlína Žipková, who joined the Film Commission just one year ago after nearly twenty years in film production, became a member of the EUFCN (European Film Commissions Network) board. Elections took place at the general meeting of association members held during the 10th anniversary celebration of the founding of EUFCN, which took place November 7–9, 2017 under the auspices of the European Parliament at the parliament building in Brussels.

“Celebrating the tenth anniversary of our organization’s founding in the European Parliament building was made even better by the fact that we had the opportunity to present the work of our film offices directly to the MEPs,” said Pavlína Žipková. “And my election to the EUFCN board was the icing on the cake. The position expands my professional portfolio with very welcome work at the European level. The European film offices work together very well, offering each other mutual assistance, sharing experiences, constantly learning from one another. We have over 90 member offices from 30 European countries in the association, so it’s important to cultivate and promote mutual cooperation between them,” added Žipková about her election. The association’s anniversary celebrations also included a conference on the primarily economic influence of the audiovisual sector and its impact on creative industries. Specialists in the field presented their many years of work, such as Jonathan Olsberg, who focuses on the audiovisual sector of creative industries, studying incentive systems and the economic impact of the audiovisual industry, and Stefan Roesch, a leading expert in the significant economic spillover effect of film tourism on regional economies. The conference was hosted by Czech MEP Martina Dlabajová, one of the initiators of the European Parliament working group for cultural and creative industries: “This branch has become a driving force of economic growth and contributes significantly to job creation in Europe. We’re working together to ensure that the creative industries are accorded their due respect and supported at both the national and European levels,” concluded Dlabajová at the close of the three-day meeting in Brussels.