Welcome to the latest issue of Showcase Prague, brought to you by Production Paradise. We present the very best of the Czech visual media industry, with more information available in our dedicated Film and Photo directories.

Be sure to check out our featured events:

• Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, July 3rd - 11th. The 44th edition of Central and Eastern Europe's most celebrated film event will present over 200 films from around the world.
• The Prague Biennale 4 runs until July 26th, exhibiting the best of Czech and Central European contemporary art.
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be in concert at the Roxy on July 1st.
• Fresh Film Fest, August 12th - 16th, presents student and first feature films from international entrants across a range of categories.

Our cover image was shot by Matus Toth for Klenoty Aurum with Tatiana Kucharova.

Ad Wood was founded in 2001 by a group of people who decided to use their creativity and filmmaking skills to make an impact on the Czech advertising market. The company has since produced a number of award-winning TV commercials and brand campaigns.

The first quarter of 2009 was filled with commercial work for clients O2, The Czech Savings Bank, ING Bank, and Green-Swan Pharmaceuticals. The company also cooperated with a charity foundation supporting child accident victims on two recent TV spots.

Shooting with skilled directors Dan Ruzicka, Sandalz, and Marko Simic, as well as a professional crew in various locations around the world, Ad Wood offers an increasing range of production services.

The summer season is already underway with two major projects. The first continues the company's successful collaboration with Danone on a set of product commercials, while the second sees Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, the face of The Czech Savings Bank, showing-off his skills for the Ad Wood cameras.

Culinaria Praha is a specialty food store, gourmet-to-go and catering company located in the heart of Prague.

It offers gourmet products from around the world - and around the corner!

At Culinaria, freshness is pinnacle, closely followed by a desire to provide world-class foods and an exceptional shopping experience. Offering a broad selection of wholesome dishes and desserts made fresh on the premises from the finest ingredients, the company's homemade food can also be enjoyed at its centrally located store.

Ivana and Radka Bohuslavova established Vital Prague in February, 2002, after having worked in the Czech advertising industry for eight years.

With inspired locations and access to some of the best crews currently working in the Czech Republic, Vital Prague is a unique company that prides itself on a professional attention to detail and cost effectiveness that comes from a boutique set-up and personalised approach.

Clients: Skoda, Nivea, Bacardi, T-Mobile, Bonpari, Nissan.

Aidan Hughes was born on Merseyside, England, and was formally trained by his father. His influences include Golden Age comic artists Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Jim Steranko, Russian Constructivism, the Italian Dynamo Futurista, and the work of woodcut artists Frans Masereel and Lynd Ward.

Despite having never attended art school, he began publishing his own comics before embarking on a commercial career, producing illustrations and storyboards for clients such as Warner Bros., the BBC and The London Evening Standard. In the 1980's he began a long-term collaboration with industrial band KMFDM, created BRUTE! pulp magazine, and worked extensively in radio, TV and the media. Aidan's other work includes graphic design, short film making, computer games and animation.

Check his website for more information, or see his Wikipedia entry to learn more.

Young stylist Martina Jarolimova began her career six years ago as assistant to Czech fashion designer, Denisa Nova. Over the last three years she has been collaborating with stylist Jana Kapounova, and together they have formed a highly creative team.

Martina recently completed styling on a range of TV commercials and photo shoots for clients including Vodafone, Samsung and Klenoty Aurum with Tatiana Kucharova, Miss World 2006.

She works with many of the leading Czech photographers, including Standa Merhout, Goran Tacevski, Jiri Turek and Karin Zadrick, but it has always been her dream to work alongside photographer Tim Walker.

You can email Martina for more information.

Studio 55 is one of the largest and most professional photo ateliers in the Czech Republic. Its 200 m² workspace is located near by the centre of Prague.

Back-lit with natural light, but including blackout possibilities and a goods elevator, the studio offers professional equipment rental, production, post production and backstage shooting facilities.

Studio 55 is headed by Martin Kinkal, a renowned professional photographer with over 15 years of experience shooting around the world for international clients, including Elit, Modeta, Axis, Stella Artois, Regina, and magazines Turp, Max, Maxim, FHM and Coupe. He has also collaborated on campaigns for Avon with Daniela Pestova, One Magazine with Tatiana Kucharova, and Longevity with Anna Polivkova and Olga Menzelova.

Bazzy took her first pictures in the midst of the smoke and soot of Yekatenburg, one of Russia's largest industrial cities. The urban landscape pushed Bazzy to find freshness, vibrant dynamics and a touch of spring to enliven her photography.

She found energy and brightness in the city's nightclubs and on the vivid faces of the guys and girls with whom she transformed life into digital memories. At last, Bazzy was creating new shapes and perspectives, adding colour and light to the world in stark contrast to what she saw during the day in the big dull city.

Since her experiences shooting on the set of a film production, Bazzy has made it her goal to spend the coming years photographing the work of the leading directors, production crews and actors in world cinema and advertising.

Acclaimed both in the Czech Republic and abroad, Petra Mechurova - L'Oréal Professionnel ambassador, creative director of Haute Coiffure Francaise (Czech Republic), and one of the leading Czech hairdressers - opened her salon in 2001. Her excellent management skills and creative mind have helped her to establish a team of experienced and artistic hairdressers. Petra's extraordinary talent and creativity is reflected in her own hair design collections that express an outstanding interpretation of contemporary fashion.

Petra introduces her latest creative collections twice a year. Her originality and innovation push the boundaries of hairdressing, and her style - simple, beautiful and progressive - has received repeated awards in both national and international competitions.

Welcome to the latest Showcase Prague, brought to you by Production Paradise. We present the very best of the Czech capital's visual media industry with, as always, more information in our dedicated Film and Photo directories.

Be sure to check out our featured events:

• 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, July 3rd - 11th, 2009: We're giving you plenty of time to prepare for Central and Eastern Europe's leading film festival, so there can be no excuses for not turning up!
• DOX Centre for Contemporary Art: Welcome to Capitalism, January 19th - February 8th. The inaugural exhibition for this new contemporary art space looks to find ways of connecting art to the accumulation of capital.

Our cover photo was shot by Anna Mrazek Kovacic represented by Pavleye.