The earliest Czech cinema began in 1898 with Jan Kříženecký, later major contributions were made by interwar directors such as Karel Lamač and Martin Frič, with Barrandov Studios founded in 1933. During WWII, filmmakers like Otakar Vávra continued working despite Nazi occupation.

In the Post-war period, the industry was nationalized, with The Proud Princess (1952) becoming a record hit. The 1958 film The Fabulous World of Jules Verne is considered the most internationally successful Czech film ever made; soon after its release it was distributed to 72 countries and received widespread attention. Domestically, the most viewed Czech film ever is The Proud Princess from 1952, which was seen by 8 million people.

The 1960s saw the Czechoslovak New Wave emerge, featuring directors Miloš Forman and Jiří Menzel. The 1970s–80s focused on comedies and family films. In the 1990s, Marketa Lazarová was voted the all-time best Czech movie in a poll of Czech film critics

 

The most renowned film festival in the Czech Republic is the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, held in Karlovy Vary, the partner city of Eilat!

 

The most famous Czech film is Kolya (Czech: Kolja), a 1996  drama film about a man whose life is reshaped in an unexpected way.  Kolya earned critical acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film

 

To find out more about film festivals visit the Association for Film and Audiovisual Educations website. For Israelis, it might also be valuable to attend the Kolnoa – Festival of Israeli film held in Prague every year.