The House of Animation in Třeboň will not happen after all

Třeboň - In Třeboň, the House of Animation will not be established, which was supposed to promote Czech animated film. The councilors decided today not to accept a subsidy of 66.4 million CZK from IROP intended for this exhibition. "The project cannot be financed in Třeboň," said the mayor Jan Váňa (ODS) to ČTK today. This year, Třeboň will host the 18th edition of the animated film festival Anifilm. Whether it will remain in the city in the coming years is uncertain, said Tomáš Rychecký, the director of Anifilm, to ČTK today. He estimated the annual attendance at the House of Animation at 78,000 people. Construction work was supposed to start in September.

The House of Animation in the medieval town hall was to be four stories high covering an area of 650 square meters, with 65 stops. Today, 12 out of 23 present councilors voted against accepting the subsidy, nine were in favor, and two abstained.

According to the mayor, the city's original co-payment was to be 12 million, but newly it would be almost 21 million. Almost the entire subsidy would, as he said, go to the exhibition, and the city would have to repair the building with its own funds.

"No one calculated how many people would be employed at the House of Animation, what the operating costs would be; we would have to run it ourselves for five years. It initially looked like there would be ongoing financing, but we would have to fully pre-finance it. And we decided to prioritize the reconstruction of another 36 rooms of Bertin's Spa, which will mean an increase of almost 32 million in next year's budget. And you can’t do both," Váňa told ČTK.

The director of Anifilm, Tomáš Rychecký, wrote in a letter to the councilors that "the burial of the project could have fatal consequences for the city's partnership with the festival." Anifilm currently has no contract with Třeboň regarding the organization of the festival. This year's edition will take place in Třeboň, but future prospects are open.

"There will be centrifugal tendencies. If the city does not want something they have been discussing for four years to do together, then I don’t know how they will continue to approach the festival. I want to stay in Třeboň, but if we do not have space or support, it will be very difficult to do," Rychecký told ČTK today.

After the councilors' decision, Rychecký told ČTK that the House of Animation project is transferable to another location. It is possible, he said, that another city will show interest. "And if that city approached us to host the festival there, it would be a consideration, because the festival lasts six days a year, but the House of Animation is meant to be a year-round activity," said the director of Anifilm.

The House of Animation was supported today by the opposition. Former mayor Terezie Jenisová (KDU-ČSL) said that the exhibition would likely be unique throughout Europe. Other opposition councilors said that the project would bring tourists and schools to the city, and that by not accepting the subsidy, the city is throwing "sticks in the wheels" of Anifilm. Váňa refused to link the existence of the festival with the House of Animation. He recalled that ten years ago he reached out to the organizers of Anifilm to prepare the festival in Třeboň after the previous AniFest festival moved to Teplice. "No one can claim that I wouldn’t want Anifilm here," Váňa said.

The House of Animation project was prepared by a team of filmmakers and architects around the Anifilm festival. It aimed to showcase personalities of Czechoslovak animated film such as Jiří Trnka or Hermína Týrlová, as well as contemporary animators like Michaela Pavlátová, Aurela Klimt, or Jan Tománek. Rychecký reminded that following the dissolution of the animated film exhibition at Kratochvíle Castle, there is no place in the Czech Republic that represents Czechoslovak animation comprehensively.

Anifilm will present 127 competitive films in Třeboň this year from May 7 to 12. The festival's budget is approximately 13 million CZK. This year, it will receive 3.5 million from the State Cinematography Fund. Váňa told ČTK that the festival will receive 400,000 CZK from the city this year, another 250,000 CZK in raffles, and free use of some municipal spaces. Last year, the festival attracted over 30,000 viewers.