The winner of the first ETC Film Awards was announced at a ceremony held in the famous Bran Castle. The Swiss film was selected from among all country members of the European Travel Commission.
BRUSSELS – In recent times, videos are proving to be a major resource for travellers searching for inspiration on where to go on their next trip. In order to recognise the work that many destinations are doing to emotionally connect with their viewers through video content, the European Travel Commission (ETC) organised a competition to honour the best European tourism film of 2014.
The first edition of the ETC Film Awards received a total of 24 entries from different National Tourism Organisation members of the ETC. Only tourism films produced or released within the last two years were eligible to enter the competition. The winner was announced at a ceremony held in the famous Bran Castle in Transylvania (Romania), commonly known as Dracula’s Castle. The award ceremony took place within the framework of the ETC’s 88th General Meeting held in Brasov between 7th and 8th October, 2014.
The jury, headed by Alexander Kammel from the tourism film festival organisation CIFFT, selected ‘Time’ from Switzerland as the best European tourism film. The short video invites viewers to join local greybeards Sebi and Paul on their mission to remove all clocks from their traditional mountain village. As the pair trudges through fascinating winter landscapes, their pile of discarded timepieces grows, turning the area into a peaceful and relaxing resort where visitors can lose track of time. “This film succeeds in appealing to large audiences in an intelligent and ironic way, while showcasing the beauty and the core values of the destination”, said Kammel. Conceived by Leo Burnett and shot by director Michael Fueter, the spot was part of Switzerland Tourism’s winter campaign. The film will be entered in the CIFFT tourism film festival circuit next year. The runners-up were ‘Piazze d’Italia’ and ‘The Sounds of the Wild Atlantic Way’ from Italy and Ireland, respectively. All video entries can be seen on the Visit Europe’s official Youtube channel.
During the award ceremony, BBC Travel Show host Rajan Datar spoke to the audience about the latest trends in travel video production and the significance of storytelling and personal experiences in creating a prosperous tourism video.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
