Cinema of the Czech Republic

The first Czech film director and cinematographer was Jan Kríženecký, who since the second half of the 1890s filmed short documentaries called "Newsreels". The first permanent cinema house was founded by Viktor Ponrepo in 1907 in Prague. Sound was first used in Czechoslovakia in the film Když struny lkají (1930). Then the Czech movie industry experienced a boom period which lasted until WW2. Barrandov Studios were launched in 1933, it is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. At present the studios are often called the "European Hollywood" or "Hollywood of the East" due to increasing interest of western productions.