March 8th, 2025
Rudolfinum, Praha
STATUTES OF THE CZECH LION AWARDS
I. INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
The Czech Film and Television Academy, registered company (hereinafter referred to as „CFTA“) presents every year the annual awards under the name „Czech Lion“ (hereinafter referred to as „awards“) related to Czech audio-visual works of art in the following categories:
1) best feature film
2) best director
3) best screenplay
4) best cinematography
5) best music
6) best film editing
7) best sound
8) best stage design
9) best costume design
10) best makeup and hairstyling
11) best actress in a leading role
12) best actor in a leading role
13) best actress in a supporting role
14) best actor in a supporting role
15) best documentary feature
16) best miniseries or drama series
17) best animated film
18) best short film
19) best actress in a leading role in a serial work of art
20) best actor in a leading role in a serial work of art
21) best actress in a supporting role in a serial work of art
22) best actor in a supporting role in a serial work of art
23) unique contribution to Czech film
24) exceptional feat in the area of audio-visual arts
II. FEATURE FILMS
1. An actors’ work of audiovisual art which fulfils all the following conditions (hereinafter referred to as “feature film”) can be presented the awards in the categories 1 to 14 if:
a) it is a solitary (independent) work of art and it is at least of 60-minute footage;
b) at least 20% of its cost was financed by a producer or co-producers which are based in the Czech Republic;
c) it has a Czech representative in the profession of the director or at least in three of the following professions: main producer, screenplay, cinematography, music, film editing, sound, stage design, costumes, makeup and hairstyling, actress in the leading role, actor in the leading role, while this condition does not have to be fulfilled if (i) the work of art was 100 % financed by a producer or co-producers who are based in the Czech Republic, or (ii) if the dominant language (of the original language version) is Czech; and
d) it was lawfully released to the public for the first time in the Czech Republic in the relevant year, for which the awards are presented (hereinafter referred to as “relevant year”), either (A) by screening it in commercial cinemas with paid admission fees (only if the date of the beginning of the distribution is mentioned in the plan of premieres published by UFD), or (B) by television broadcasting within a programme of a television broadcasting operator (by law or licenced) operated in the area of the Czech Republic (broadcasting in a programme operated in a different area is not taken into account), without it being released to the public previously, with the exception of (i) screening it in the cinemas without being mentioned in the UFD plan of premieres or (ii) a potential presentation of the documentary feature at a festival or a film show, or (C) by the means of audio-visual media services on request available in the area of the Czech Republic, without it being presented to the public previously, with the exception of (i) screening it in the cinemas without being mentioned in the UFD plan of premieres or (ii) a potential presentation of the documentary feature at a festival or a film show.
2. Feature films are included in the voting on the awards based on the data provided by the producers of the films and providers of television broadcasting or providers of audio-visual media services on request by the 20th November of the relevant year at the latest, or alternatively based on the publicly accessible data, on condition that the CFTA manages to ascertain such data.
III. DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
- A documentary audio-visual work of art which fulfils all the following conditions (hereinafter referred to as “documentary feature“) can be presented the awards in the categories 4 to 7 and 15 if:
a) it fulfils the conditions according to section II. paragraph 1 article a), b), and d); and
b) it has Czech representatives in the profession of the director or at least in three of the following professions: main producer, cinematography, music, film editing, sound, while this condition does not have to be fulfilled if the work of art was 100 % financed by a producer or co-producers which are based in the Czech Republic;
2. Documentary features are included in the voting on the awards based on the data provided by the producers of the films and providers of television broadcasting or providers of audio-visual media services on request by the 31st October of the relevant year at the latest, or alternatively based on the publicly accessible data, on condition that the CFTA manages to ascertain such data. If the documentary feature had not been finished by the 31st October of the relevant year, it will be, provided that it fulfils the conditions according to paragraph 1 article a) to c), included in the voting in the following calendar year, despite the fact that it had been released to the public in the relevant year.
IV. ANIMATED FILMS
1. An animated audio-visual work of art which fulfils all the following conditions (hereinafter referred to as “animated film“) can be presented the award in the category 17 and provided that it is a solitary (independent) work of art and it is at least of 60-minute footage, then also in the categories 3 to 7, if:
a) it is a solitary (independent) work of art and it is at least of 5-minute footage, or it is a series of more than one episode, each of which lasts at least 5 minutes;
b) at least 20% of its cost was financed by a producer or co-producers which are based in the Czech Republic;
c) it has Czech representatives in the profession of the director or at least in three of the following professions: main producer, screenplay, main designer, music, film editing, sound, while this condition does not have to be fulfilled if the work of art was 100 % financed by a producer or co-producers which are based in the Czech Republic;
d) it was released to the public (by screening it in the cinemas, presenting it at a festival or a film show, television broadcasting, releasing it to the public on the Internet or any other form) lawfully for the first time in the Czech Republic in the relevant year. In case of the series at least five of the episodes have to be released to the public in the Czech Republic within the relevant year. The provision mentioned in the last sentence of 2nd paragraph has got priority over this article d).
2. Animated films are included in the voting on the awards based on the applications of their producers which are submitted to the CFTA by the end of the October of the relevant year at the latest, while part of the application has to be granting the CFTA the authorisation to use the animated film in a way mentioned in section VII paragraph 14 and also the authorisation to use the extracts of the animated film in any way related to organising and presenting the awards. A producer who submits such an application has to provide the CFTA with the recording of the animated film in a required format by the 31st October of the relevant year so that it can be presented to the CFTA members (with the series the producer is to select four episodes at the most), otherwise the application will be rejected. If the producer cannot fulfil the obligation mentioned in the sentence above because by the 31st October of the relevant year the animated film in question is not finished yet, such an animated film can be included in the voting on the awards in the following calendar year (provided that it fulfils the conditions mentioned in paragraph 1 articles a) to c)) despite the fact that it had been released to the public in the relevant year.
V. SHORT FILMS
1. Short fiction, experimental or documentary audio-visual work of art which fulfils all the following conditions (hereinafter referred to as “short film”) can be presented the awards in the category 18 if:
a) it is a solitary (independent) work of art and it is at least of 5-minute footage and 30-minute footage at the most;
b) at least 20% of its cost was financed by a producer or co-producers which are based in the Czech Republic;
c) in it has a Czech representative in the profession of the director or at least in three of the following professions: main producer, screenplay, cinematography, music, film editing, sound, actor in a leading role, actress in a leading role, while this condition does not have to be fulfilled if the work of art was 100 % financed by a producer or co-producers which are based in the Czech Republic;
d) it was released lawfully to the public (by screening it in the cinemas, presenting it at a festival or a film show, television broadcasting, releasing it to the public on the Internet or any other form) for the first time in the Czech Republic in the relevant year. The provision mentioned in the last sentence of 2nd paragraph has got priority over this article d).
2. Short films are included in the voting on the awards based on the applications of the producers which are submitted to the CFTA by the end of the October of the relevant year at the latest, while part of the application has to be granting the CFTA the authorisation to use the short film in a way mentioned in section VII paragraph 14 and also the authorisation to use the extracts of the short film in any way related to organising and presenting the awards. A producer who submits such an application has to provide the CFTA with the recording of the short film in a required format by the 31st October of the relevant year so that it can be presented to the members of the CFTA, otherwise the application will be rejected. If the producer cannot fulfil the obligation mentioned in the sentence above because by the 31st October of the relevant year the short film in question is not finished yet, such a short film can be included in the voting on the awards in the following calendar year (provided that it fulfils the conditions mentioned in paragraph 1 articles a) to c)) despite the fact that it had been released to the public in the relevant year.
VI. SERIAL WORKS OF ART
1. A fiction audio-visual miniseries or series which fulfils all the following conditions (hereinafter referred to as “serial work of art”) can be presented the awards in the categories 16 and further in categories 3 to 10 and 19 to 22 if:
a) it is produced in the original Czech language version, i.e. most of the dialogues are in Czech language;
b) it has a Czech representative in the profession of the director or at least in three of the following professions: main producer, screenplay, cinematography, music, film editing, sound, stage design, costumes, makeup and hairstyling, actress in a leading role, actor in a leading role;
c) is not released to the public in the cinemas (only with the exception of a ceremonial premiere, a festival or non-commercial events);
d) it has the character of a series of two or more episodes where each lasts at least 10 minutes and the plot is presented continually or episodically and the total footage of all the episodes is at least 100 minutes (if in the relevant year there are more television premieres of the so-called seasons, sets or series of the serial work of art in question, such serial work of art can be nominated in the relevant year as one unit only);
e) it was for the first time released to the public in the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to in this article e) as “premiere”) during the relevant year either by television broadcasting or by the means of audio-visual media services on request. However, any potential presentation at a festival or a film show or in the form of a ceremonial premiere or a non-commercial event before the time of the premiere in the sense of the previous sentence, is not an impediment. If the serial work of art has got no more than ten episodes, all of them have to have the premiere in the relevant year and with the other serial works of art at least ten episodes have to have the premiere during the relevant year. A serial work of art which does not fulfil the conditions mentioned in the sentence above can be included in the voting about the awards in the following calendar year, if all of its episodes have the premiere in that following year at the latest. For the purpose of the awards a collection of more episodes of a series (known as a set, season or series) that is related by its content and/or name to an older serial work of art that had been released to the public previously and is premiered in the relevant year is considered to be a new serial work of art.
2. The serial works of art are included in the voting on the awards based on the applications of their producers and/or the providers of television broadcasting or providers of audio-visual media services on request whose programmes / services released the serial work of art for the first time in the Czech Republic during the relevant year. The application has to be delivered to the CFTA by the end of October of the relevant year at the latest, while part of the application has to be granting the CFTA the authorisation to use the television work of art in a way mentioned in section VII paragraph 14 and also the authorisation to use the extracts of the television work of art in any way related to organising and presenting the awards. The subject who submits such an application (hereinafter referred to as the “applicant”) is obliged to deliver a recording of the serial work of art in question to the CFTA in a required format for the purpose of presenting it to the CFTA members (with the serial work of art that does not have the character of a miniseries i.e. it has got more than six episodes, the applicant is to select six episodes at the most for this purpose and at the same time the applicant is recommended to provide the CFTA with a link to the online location of the complete serial work of art at their own expense so that it is accessible for the members of CFTA ) by 31st October of the relevant year. If the applicant cannot fulfil the obligation mentioned in the sentence above because by 31st October of the relevant year the serial work of art in question is not finished yet, its recording can be delivered to the CFTA later; however, it has to be delivered by the beginning of the voting in the first round at the latest, according to the section VIII paragraphs 7 to 9. If the producer cannot fulfil the obligation according to the previous sentence because the serial work of art in question is not yet finished in the extent of the minimum number of episodes according to this paragraph by the beginning of the voting in the first round, provided that all the other conditions have been fulfilled, such a serial work of art can be included in the voting about the awards in the following year despite the fact that it had been released to the public in the relevant year. If the application of the same serial work of art is submitted by the provider of television broadcasting or the provider of audio-visual media services on request and at the same time by another (different) producer, the application of the producer gets precedence.
VII. COMMON PROVISIONS
1. The CFTA gathers information about the feature films and documentary features from the public resources, mainly from the plan of premieres published by the UFD, regarding the date of the beginning of the distribution in the cinemas and also if the work of art in question is released as a Czech film. In case of feature films and documentary features released to the public via television broadcasting the CFTA also gets the information from the relevant television broadcasters. The producers of feature films and documentary features which are not in the plan of premieres entered as Czech films (mainly because they are minority Czech co-productions) or are not entered there at all are solely responsible for delivering the necessary information about such works of art to the CFTA in time (by the 20th November of the relevant year, in case of documentary features by the 31st October of the relevant year) so that these can be included in the voting on the awards.
2. In the categories 2 to 14 and 19 to 22 the relevant author (or co-authors) or performing artist whose authorial work of art or artistic performance is the object of the award is/are the nominee(s) and holder(s) of the award. In the category 1 (best feature film) the nominee and holder of the award is the main producer. In the categories 15 (best documentary feature) and 18 (best short film) the nominees and holders of the award are the main producer and the director. In the category 17 (best animated film) the nominees and holders of the award are the director, main designer and main producer. In category 16 (best miniseries or drama series) the nominees and holders of the award are the main author and the main producer. For the purpose of these statutes the main author is the director of all the episodes of the serial work of art; if the individual episodes of the serial work of art have different directors, the main author is considered to be the one (based on the designation of the provider or producer) who performs the role of the art supervisor. For the purpose of these statutes the main producer is considered to be the person in the position of a producer who had the creative control over the work of art and/or represents the company which took the major part in financing the work of art.
3. In category 5 (best music) only the author /authors of original music composed for the audio-visual work of art in question can be nominated and awarded.
4. If the screenplay of the feature film, animated film or serial work of art was created based on a format, i.e. by an adaptation of a theme / screenplay or another form of a literary work of art, of an audio-visual work of art that has already been realized (with the exception of a previous season of a series or a miniseries) it cannot be included in the voting on the awards in the category 3 (best screenplay).
5. If the conditions for nominations in any of the categories 1 to 10 and 15 to 18 related to one work of art are fulfilled by more than three persons, the presidium has the right to require the producer (or applicant in case of category 16) to select three or more representatives for the purpose of the awards on the formal notice of the CFTA and if they do not do so within the period given by the CFTA, the presidium will make such a selection.
6. If the “Czech representation” in some of the professions is decisive for fulfilling the conditions about taking part in the awards, the CFTA considers (i) the Czech citizenship during the period of at least six months of the relevant year, (ii) if there are two or more persons doing that profession, at least 50% of those persons are to fulfil this condition.
7. At the CFTA’s request the producer of a feature film (and the applicant related to the submitted serial work of art) determines which actor’s performance included in the work of art will be evaluated in which of the acting categories (11 to 14 and 19 to 22), while not all roles in the work of art in question have to be determined. However, the presidium reserves the right to change such a placement to the categories based on the character of the roles. If the producer or applicant does not determine this, the presidium will do it based on the character of the acting roles. Regardless of the determination of the actors in the categories, the voting members of the CFTA have the right to vote in the first round for any actors’ performances included in the relevant feature film or serial work of art.
8. If in any of the categories in the relevant year, there are less than 5 candidates who would fulfil the conditions for being included in the voting, the presidium can decide that the award in this category will not be presented.
9. For the purpose of presenting the awards, any audio-visual work of art that had been restored, reconstructed, coloured, newly edited or adapted in any way is not considered to be a new work of art.
10. A work of art which fulfils the conditions to be included in the voting on the awards cannot be included in such a voting repeatedly. The provisions of section VI paragraph 1 article e) of the last sentence is not affected.
11. For the purpose of these statutes, the footage of the audio-visual work of art or an episode of a serial work of art is considered including the length of the opening and end titles; nevertheless, the jingles of the producer /co-producers / distributors and other subjects inserted before the opening titles are not included.
12. For the purpose of the awards, an animated film is a work of art which for at least 75% of its footage uses the technique of animation, i.e. inducing the impression of movement in phases by a different method than recording a real movement, for example using the method of cell or cut-out animation, animation of puppets, plasticine or objects, pixilation, computer animation or rotoscoping, while the simple movement of text within the opening or end titles is not considered using the animation techniques for the purpose of assessing the footage; for the purpose of the awards, an audio-visual work of art produced within the above mentioned extent is also considered an animated film if it was made using the technology of marionettes or combining a variety of animation techniques and marionettes. The audio-visual work of art which fulfils the conditions of the previous sentence cannot be included in the voting on the awards for the feature film, documentary feature, short film or serial work of art. An audio-visual work of art using the animation technique in a shorter span of footage than stated in the first sentence of this paragraph can (based on its character) be included in the voting on the awards as a feature film, documentary feature, short film or serial work of art.
13. In case of the matters at issue it is the presidium who makes the decisions about the work of art being included in the voting on the awards and who also grants the dispensation in case of insignificant deviations from the qualification criteria of the films. In an exceptional case the presidium can pardon delivering a short film or animated film after the deadline on 31st October of the relevant year, if the film had not been finished yet by 31st October of the relevant year, and enable including such a film in the voting on the awards for the relevant year, on condition that it will be technically possible to include the film in question in the offer for voting, or rather the preselection according to the section VIII paragraph 3 to 6, before its opening.
14. The CFTA releases the works of art tendering for the awards to the CFTA members and persons making the preselection according to the section VIII paragraph 3 to 6 via an on-line platform; the access to this platform is secured by a username and a password and the number of replays is limited. In case of feature films and documentary features the CFTA can do this on condition that it gets the authorisation to do so.
15. The CFTA can award non-statutory awards beyond the categories mentioned in these statutes based on the decision of the presidium.
16. Within these statutes the producer of the work of art is considered to be the producer of an audio-visual work of art according to § 12 paragraph 1 article c) of the law No. 496/2012 of the Legal code on audiovisual works of art and support of cinematography and about the change of some laws (the law on audiovisual arts), the co-producer is considered to be one of the producers of an audiovisual work of art according to § 12 paragraph 1 article d) of the law on audiovisual arts. Where these statutes use just the word producer it is understood to mean also any of the co-producers if there are more than one. If the work of art is produced within the framework of an international co-production, the co-producer which is based in the area of the Czech Republic is expected to fulfil the duties of the producer according to these statutes and also to negotiate with the CFTA regarding the awards.
VIII. VOTING
1. Members of the CFTA vote about the categories 1 to 22. The voting is not public and takes place in two rounds. The deadline for the voting is announced by the CFTA. The voting in some of the categories subjects to a preselection before opening the first round, in accordance with paragraphs 3 to 6 of this section.
2. The CFTA members have the right to vote; however, they are not obliged to do so. Each member of the CFTA has the right to vote in some of the categories only or in one of the rounds of voting only. The voting of the CFTA members takes place via an Internet application while the CFTA members have access to it by a unique link. The results will be certified by a notary.
3. If more than fifteen documentary features fulfil the condition for being included in the voting on the awards in the relevant year, there can be made a preselection (based on the decision made by the presidium) of fifteen documentary features for the purpose of the further voting, according to procedural rules determined by the presidium. According to these rules more than fifteen documentary features can be selected in this way in case of an equal number of votes or points. Only the documentary features selected in this way then proceed to the first round of voting on the awards.
4. If more than ten animated films submitted in time fulfil the condition for being included in the voting on the awards in the relevant year, there can be made a preselection (based on the decision made by the presidium) of ten animated films for the purpose of the further voting, according to procedural rules determined by the presidium. According to these rules more than ten animated films can be selected in this way in case of an equal number of votes or points. Only the animated films selected in this way then proceed to the first round of voting on the awards, as well as any other animated film of at least 60 minutes of footage that has not been selected in this way.
5. If more than ten short films submitted in time fulfil the condition for being included in the voting on the awards in the relevant year, there can be made a preselection (based on the decision made by the presidium) of ten short films for the purpose of the further voting, according to procedural rules determined by the presidium. According to these rules more than ten short films can be selected in this way in case of an equal number of votes or points. Only the short films selected in this way then proceed to the first round of voting on the awards.
6. If more than fifteen serial works of art submitted in time fulfil the condition for being included in the voting on the awards in the relevant year, there can be made a preselection (based on the decision made by the presidium) of fifteen serial works of art for the purpose of the further voting, according to procedural rules determined by the presidium. According to these rules more than fifteen serial works of art can be selected in this way in case of an equal number of votes or points. Only the serial works of art selected in this way then proceed to the first round of voting on the awards.
7. In the first round there will be included in the voting on the awards (i) any feature film which has fulfilled the conditions of these statutes and the CFTA has learnt about it in time, (ii) any documentary feature which has fulfilled the conditions of these statutes and the CFTA has learnt about it in time, unless there is a preselection made in accordance with paragraph 3 of this section, (iii) any animated film and short film which has fulfilled the conditions of these statutes and has been submitted by its producer in time, unless there is a preselection made in accordance with paragraph 4 or 5 of this section, and (iv) all serial works of art that have fulfilled the conditions of these statutes and have been submitted in time by the applicants, unless there is a preselection made in accordance with paragraph 6 of this section.
8. In the categories 4 to 10 and in the first round, the members of the CFTA working in the professions specified by the presidium can vote, or the presidium can constitute committees of experts for the above-mentioned categories in the first round.
9. In each category the voting members will choose three candidates and they will determine their order from the first to the third placing. For each first placing the candidate will obtain six points, for each second placing the candidate will get three points and for each third placing one point. If a voting member does not use the opportunity to vote for the full amount of candidates it means that they did not vote in the relevant category.
10. In each category, five candidates (in categories 17 to 22 three candidates) with the highest score of points will proceed to the second round. In case of an equal score of points the following criteria in the given order will determine the placing:
a) higher number of the obtained first placings,
b) higher number of the obtained second placings,
c) higher number of the first placings from the voting members of the presidium,
d) higher number of the second placings from the voting members of the presidium.
Even if this procedure does not determine the five candidates proceeding to the second round, the number of the candidates will be enlarged so that the first five candidates (with the categories 17 to 22 three candidates) with the highest scores proceed to the second round as well as those candidates that have the same score as the first of the first five candidates (with the categories 17 to 22 three candidates) with the lowest score. The candidates proceeding to the second round are considered to be the nominees for the Czech Lion awards.
11. In the second round, the voting members will choose one candidate out of the nominees in each category. The nominee with the highest number of votes obtained in this way becomes the holder of the award in the relevant category. In case of equal numbers of votes the higher number of votes obtained in the first round is determinative. Even if this procedure does not determine a single holder of the award, the award will be presented ex aequo.
12. A member of the CFTA who is a candidate for the award in any category cannot vote in this category.
13. The details of all the voting are confidential and can be made public based on the decision of the presidium only.
IX. VOTING IN SPECIAL CATEGORIES
1. The presidium votes about the holder in the category 23 (unique contribution to Czech film), the award is presented to personalities who have contributed significantly to the development of Czech film.
2. The presidium votes about the holder in the category 24 (exceptional feat in the area of audio-visual arts) and the award is presented to audio-visual projects or audio-visual works of art or rather to individual creative or artistic feats which cannot be awarded in any of the other categories. The presidium can decide that the award in this category will not be presented in the relevant year.
3. Members of the CFTA can deliver their proposals for the awards in both of these categories.
X. FINAL PROVISIONS
1. The presidium of the CFTA approved these statutes on 23rd April 2024 and they supersede the previous statutes of the Czech Lion Awards.