A total of one hundred short domestic and foreign videos promoting the Czech Republic were entered in this year's Tourfilm 2021 competition. The jury, which included Febiofest director Kamil Spáčil and Zlín Film Festival director Jarmila Záhorová, awarded the main prizes to the films: Adolf Loos Plzeň in the domestic category of the competition and the British film The Gift of Travel in the international category.
„Back in 2018, my girlfriend Emma surprised me with an amazing trip to Prague. As always, I took my camera along with me and ended up filming the whole 4 day trip. I tried to capture all of the fun, the sights and the beers (!) that we had when exploring this amazing city. So when I saw the Tourfilm competition was announced, I thought the video might be a good fit - but I never expected to win it! We now cannot wait to head back out to the Czech Republic again soon and explore some new places.“ said Ryan Hall, winner of the international category of the Tourfilm competition.
The winning videos (winning and honourable awards) will receive media coverage in the marketing activities of CzechTourism. The domestic images will appear on the travel portal Kudy z nudy and its Facebook profile. The foreign tourist films will be used on CzechTourism’s foreign social networks and, in the event of a favourable epidemiological situation, should also appear at partner film festivals (International Outdoor Film Festival, Zlín Film Festival, Ji.hlava). In addition, the winner of the international category will have the opportunity to visit the Czech Republic and, as part of the "influencer trip", CzechTourism will prepare a tailor-made programme to support additional media-worthy content for the Czech Republic.
"Tourfilm was a great concept when it started. It was a festival that mediated the experience of travelling to places that were completely or almost completely inaccessible at the time. Fifty years later, however, the situation is completely different – overlooking the current epidemiological situation, the world is open to travellers, information exchange has accelerated, videos, movies and internet search engines invite viewers to visit foreign destinations. A fundamental change of the Karlovy Vary festival to an online competition will allow us to adapt supply to demand and reduce costs by one tenth compared to the original concept”, comments Jan Herget, director of CzechTourism, about the change in Tourfilm.
CzechTourism announced the competition at the beginning of this year, collecting videos of up to 3 minutes in length in the regions of the Czech Republic (for destination management organisations) and international travellers (through its foreign agency). A total of 47 videos were entered in the domestic category of the competition, and 53 videos from 12 countries were entered in the international category. The chairman of the expert jury, which selected the finalists and subsequent winners in two rounds, was the director of Febiofest, Kamil Spáčil. The jury further comprised the director of the Zlín Film Festival, Jarmila Záhorová, and the founder of the professional communication agency for tourism COT group Eva Frindtová, among others.
Motion picture Adolf Loos Plzeň: Discover the fate of unique interiors, nominated by Plzeň – TURISMUS, directed by Jaroslav Kratochvíl, produced by Studio Petrohrad and Frame Films. This is a teaser from the emerging film Comfortable Century about Loos's interiors in Plzeň. This technically unique film managed to not only reflect the unique architectural value of the designs by this world-famous architect, but also their post-war history and the fates of their original inhabitants.
Honourable Award
Motion picture Luhačovice – The spring of experience, nominated by o.p.s. Luhačovické Zálesí, directed by Pavel Vrága, produced by AB Advertising Company.
Honourable Award
Motion picture Vinařské t(r)ipy Znojmo, nominated by Znojemská Beseda, directed by Jan Otruba, produced by VideoBrothers s.r.o.
International Competition
Main Award
Motion picture The Gift of Travel (Prague), author Ryan Hall, Great Britain
Special Award
Motion picture Czech Republic – A Christmas Special, produced by Golden Llama Productions, directed by Nathaniel Connell, USA
Honorary Award
Motion picture Prague with locals, Sabrina Wulf for BudgetTraveller, Germany
Honorary Award
Motion picture Walk. Pray. Love., author Jeong Jiho, South Korea
The winning videos (winning and honourable awards) will receive media coverage in the marketing activities of CzechTourism. The domestic images will appear on the travel portal Kudy z nudy and its Facebook profile. The foreign tourist films will be used on CzechTourism’s foreign social networks and, in the event of a favourable epidemiological situation, should also appear at partner film festivals (International Outdoor Film Festival, Zlín Film Festival, Ji.hlava). In addition, the winner of the international category will have the opportunity to visit the Czech Republic and, as part of the "influencer trip", CzechTourism will prepare a tailor-made programme to support additional media-worthy content for the Czech Republic.
"Tourfilm was a great concept when it started. It was a festival that mediated the experience of travelling to places that were completely or almost completely inaccessible at the time. Fifty years later, however, the situation is completely different – overlooking the current epidemiological situation, the world is open to travellers, information exchange has accelerated, videos, movies and internet search engines invite viewers to visit foreign destinations. A fundamental change of the Karlovy Vary festival to an online competition will allow us to adapt supply to demand and reduce costs by one tenth compared to the original concept”, comments Jan Herget, director of CzechTourism, about the change in Tourfilm.
CzechTourism announced the competition at the beginning of this year, collecting videos of up to 3 minutes in length in the regions of the Czech Republic (for destination management organisations) and international travellers (through its foreign agency). A total of 47 videos were entered in the domestic category of the competition, and 53 videos from 12 countries were entered in the international category. The chairman of the expert jury, which selected the finalists and subsequent winners in two rounds, was the director of Febiofest, Kamil Spáčil. The jury further comprised the director of the Zlín Film Festival, Jarmila Záhorová, and the founder of the professional communication agency for tourism COT group Eva Frindtová, among others.
Competition results
Domestic Competition
Main AwardMotion picture Adolf Loos Plzeň: Discover the fate of unique interiors, nominated by Plzeň – TURISMUS, directed by Jaroslav Kratochvíl, produced by Studio Petrohrad and Frame Films. This is a teaser from the emerging film Comfortable Century about Loos's interiors in Plzeň. This technically unique film managed to not only reflect the unique architectural value of the designs by this world-famous architect, but also their post-war history and the fates of their original inhabitants.
Honourable Award
Motion picture Luhačovice – The spring of experience, nominated by o.p.s. Luhačovické Zálesí, directed by Pavel Vrága, produced by AB Advertising Company.
Honourable Award
Motion picture Vinařské t(r)ipy Znojmo, nominated by Znojemská Beseda, directed by Jan Otruba, produced by VideoBrothers s.r.o.
International Competition
Main Award
Motion picture The Gift of Travel (Prague), author Ryan Hall, Great Britain
Special Award
Motion picture Czech Republic – A Christmas Special, produced by Golden Llama Productions, directed by Nathaniel Connell, USA
Honorary Award
Motion picture Prague with locals, Sabrina Wulf for BudgetTraveller, Germany
Honorary Award
Motion picture Walk. Pray. Love., author Jeong Jiho, South Korea
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