About us
Prague Film Associates was founded in early 2015 by Kenny Bates and Tomas Rotnagl.
Action Director / Producer Kenny Bates has created some of the most iconic action sequences in the last 28 years, becoming one of the most sought-after and innovative talents in the film industry.
Since 1989, when he began his film career, he has built a stellar reputation as a creative force and integral part of every project he has been involved in. He was recognized as early as 1993 by the Academy, receiving the Scientific and Technical Achievement Award for his “Bates Decelerator System” which allows a wider range of camera angles to shoot high stunt falls without the restriction of airbags.
After teaming up with Michael Bay in 1994 on the smash hit Bad Boys, Bates went on to establish himself as a prolific 2nd Unit Director, creating exhilarating trailer moments for blockbuster hits like The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Training Day, The Italian Job, Transformers, and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. In 2001, Bates received a Taurus Award for Best 2nd Unit Director and/or Stunt Coordinator for Pearl Harbor.
Having worked on hundreds of commercials, music videos and feature films, with some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer, Bates has a keen eye for composition and, as a director, has cultivated a unique visual style.
Film Producer Tomas Rotnagl has nearly 20 years of experience in the film industry, and has worked on many large-scale international studio feature films, notably xXx (Triple X), Shanghai Knights, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Charles II, Revelations, and Wanted - all filmed in the Czech Republic.
He acquired valuable experience early on as Production Manager and later as Line Producer for various local and international production companies. He has managed local (Czech) productions of films like Shut Up And Shoot Me, Bathory, Little Girl Blue, Kooky, Clownwise, Home Care or Havel; and worked with award-winning Czech directors Jan Sverak (director of Academy Award-winning film Kolja), Juraj Jakubisko, Alice Nellis or Slavek Horak.
Soon after its establishment in 2015, Prague Film Associates provided a Stunt Department from the Czech Republic for Michael Bay’s project 13 Hours, filmed on Malta, where Kenny Bates directed the action sequences.
Always looking for new opportunities, PFA then turned to India’s film market, and before long was delivering entire action teams of Hollywood professionals to Shankar’s blockbuster 2.0, sequel to the film Robot. Released in November 2018 to a huge audience, 2.0 received great praise in India for what became the highest budget Indian film to date.
In 2016 PFA got involved with another Indian production, the feature film SAAHO, starring Prabhas, one of India’s most prominent actors, in the lead role. PFA designed and delivered action sequences for this film not only in India, but also in the UAE, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and in Europe, becoming in the process a “mobile Hollywood,“ able to provide a full range of services from state-of-the-art professional filming equipment to skilled technicians and film talent from around the world - a handpicked mobile film crew, scouted, gathered, and delivered to the film shoot, bringing with it the highest standards in production services.