About the award

Czech Leonarda is the first award to support talented female filmmakers and their film, television and web works.

The aim of Czech Leonarda is to support the best projects with a financial stipend. This will allow the authors of the awarded projects to fully devote themselves to the development of the work and to writing the first version of the literary script.

The philosophy of Czech Leonarda is to purposefully support the development phase of a new audiovisual work, without which a quality script and then a film will not be made.

We are looking for strong and extraordinary themes seen from a female creative perspective, potentionally suitable for international co-productions.

The purpose of the award is to promote the female element and the uniqueness of the female perspective in audiovisual production, the female view of themes and their conception.

In the case of specific works, to help ensure that female screenwriters and directors are given adequate opportunities to create their works, which may one day belong to the golden fund of Czech and world cinema.

Czech Leonarda supports themes

We are looking for extraordinary and innovative themes that go beyond the usual film and television production in the Czech Republic.

Themes, that are internationally understandable and may have a co-production potential.

Do you have a bold idea in your head that you’ve been hiding in a desk drawer and felt was too big and bold to offer to anyone?

Please feel welcome to submit it! The world has always favoured the brave

Czech Leonarda supports the themes:

• Contributing to building a pluralistic democracy, civil society and diversity of creative views, approaches and methods
• Contributing to gender equality
• Supporting women authors’ perspective on current social issues and events
• Bringing new themes that combat social stereotypes
• Strengthening the idea of a common Europe and international cooperation
• Promoting the education of society and bringing in themes relevant to the future, with particular reference to themes representing science and scientific progress in all areas of life
• Contributing to innovative, free creation, breaking down established authorial stereotypes

Who is the prize for

The Czech Leonarda Award is intended for Czech women screenwriters, directors and artists who develop scripts for audiovisual works.

Women filmmakers can apply for the prize by submitting a Treatment of their audiovisual work of no more then 10 A4 pages, intended for cinema, television and the web.

The award supports the following formats:

• fiction and documentary films
• animated films
• new TV formats
• formats for the web
• experimental films
• short films

Participation is subject to the author’s tax domicile in the Czech Republic.

Czech Leonarda Statute

Authors submit Treatment of their idea in the form of a text of no more than 10 A4 pages. They can attach photographs (atmospheric, on the theme, preproduction theme investigation and background, artistic designs and sketches, collages, graphic designs, etc.) and Trailer or video introducing writer´s artistic view, not longer then 3 minutes. Trailer or video is not a condition to enter the competition.

The submitted Treatment must be no more than 1 year old and the work or its development must not have already received funding from other sources in the Czech Republic or the EU (State Fund of Cinematography, Media, private funds, TV channels or producers).

The prize is intended for professional women filmmakers. This means that the applicant has created at least one audiovisual work in professional conditions, which has been broadcast on television, screened in cinemas or placed on a professional news, entertainment or VOD website (except social networks), female art school students can apply in their final year of study.

The award, with its financial stipend, will enable its winners to work consistently to develop the work into form:

1. first version of the literary script (feature films/TV series and animated feature films)
2. complete production script (documentary films/series)
3. literary-production screenplay (experimental film, short films, new TV and web formats)

The Statute of Czech Leonarda also include detailed competition regulations, rules on the composition and organisation of the jury and the duties of the jury members in order to ensure their independence and impartiality in decision-making. The full status of the 1st edition of the award will be published in January 2025.

Filmmakers can submit one or more Treatments. Each Treatment means a new submission. A non-refundable administration fee of 500 CZK is an integral part of each individual application.

Organization of the prize

The evaluation of submitted Treatments takes place in two stages.

 

ROUND 1: APPLICATIONS/NOMINATIONS

From the submitted Treatments, the Small Jury will select a total of 20-25 projects to nominate for the second round.

 

2) ROUND: PITCHING AND AWARD CEREMONY

The nominated Treatments will be presented by the authors before the Czech Leonarda Jury in the form of a Pitching.

The jury is composed of artistically or socially significant creative personalities in the field of audiovisual production and partners of the award, including both women and men. Members of jury may change every year. The majority of the jury is made up of artistic members, but the jury may also include representatives of the prize’s major partners.

The members of the jury will be committed to independence and impartiality in the assessment of the projects and the decision to grant the Czech Leonarda award.

After the Pitching, the jury decides the winners of the individual award categories by majority vote.

The winner of each category will receive a financial stipend to create a screenplay of their work. This is key to the idea of Czech Leonarda.

The winners have 1 year to create the scipt based on their winning Treatment.

If they fail to do so (except in the event of illness, personal emergency situation or maternity), they will have to repay the financial stipend as part of their contractual obligation.

Intellectual property protection

When assessing the Projects and the results of the implementation of the Projects, the Foundation fund will respect and protect the copyrights of the authors (Applicants), in particular taking preventive measures to ensure that the copyright works provided are not illegally distributed or reproduced. To this end, the Foundation fund will ensure that only authorised persons whose access is necessary for the processing or evaluation of the applications of the Applicants, the Projects, the results of the implementation of the Projects or other works of authorship by the Applicants will have access to the copyright works. These persons shall also be bound by the Foundation fund to keep confidential all facts which they learn in connection with their activities for the Foundation fund and to refrain from any manipulation of the evaluated works of authorship, with the exception of their evaluation and accompanying activities, and to act in such a way that no unauthorised person will have the opportunity to become acquainted with the works of authorship or to tamper with them. The Foundation fund shall be entitled to provide a copy of the copyright work to the extent necessary to persons whose access is necessary for the evaluation of the Applicants’ applications, the Projects, the results of the implementation of the Projects or other works of authorship of the Applicants.

3) TIMETABLE – INFORMATION ON DEADLINES

1. announcement of actual categories and stipends of the year 2025
2. submission of applications
3. The Small Jury announcement of the nominees for the 2nd Round
4. The Czech Leonarda Day: Pitching in front of the Jury, Jury decision and a public announcement of the winners

4) APPLICATION – ONLINE FORM

WE ARE PREPARING APPLICATIONS