Portuguese production “Heart and Soul” elected the World’s Best Tourism Film by People’s Vote

From 1^st to 25^th October, the global audience was invited to vote for their favourite tourism video in the CIFFT “People’s Choice” Award online voting competition. The Portuguese production “Heart and Soul”, produced by Lobby Films and Advertising for the Historical Villages of Portugal, was elected the World’s Best Tourism Film by People’s Vote after achieving 8133 votes from 47 countries.

In this 4^th edition of the CIFFT “People’s Choice” Award, 40 videos from 16 countries - Australia (2), Austria (5), Croatia (1), Denmark (1), Greece (3), Italy (1), Japan (4), Lithuania (2), Mexico (1), Montenegro (1), Poland (1), Portugal (8), Serbia (1), Slovenia (1), South Africa (1), and Spain (7) – competed for the coveted award, reaching almost 46000 votes from 130 countries.

With an impactful narrative and characters who made history, as the kings D. Dinis and D. João, and Pedro Álvares Cabral, who discovered the sea route to Brazil and was born and raised in one of the 12 Historical Villages, “Heart and Soul” takes the viewer on an intense journey through the territory, exploring the sight, hearing and heart.

Telmo Martins, CEO and Director of the Lobby Films and Advertising, affirms that “Winning this high-level competition of worldwide recognition and compared to the Oscars of Tourism, makes me deeply happy and with a feeling of accomplishment. The award attests to the technical and creative quality of the film, among others with great quality, presenting the soul of these 12 villages to the world.” said.

Made of granite and schist, the Historical Villages of Portugal retain stories of conquests and ancient traditions. Its identity is based not only on architectural and natural heritage but also on immaterial elements related to the historical and cultural heritage.

“Receiving the title of World’s Best Tourism Film by People’s Vote is the most evident proof that the achievements continue in the Historical Villages of Portugal. Through the seventh art, we can thus immortalize the stories of the 12 Historical Villages of Portugal. Furthermore, we believe that this award will strengthen cultural and creative industries in the territory.”, complements Dalila Dias, coordinator of the managing entity PROVERE.

One of the production’s goals is also to achieve greater international notoriety for the territory. In the CIFFT Circuit 2021, the most prestigious competition for the Travel Video Marketing Industry, “Heart and Soul”, obtained other relevant awards: Gold Award in Tourism Products at the International Tourism Film Festival Africa – ITFFA and the Silver Award in Tourism Products, at the International Tourism Film Festival Turkey.

The CIFFT “People’s Choice” Award, an initiative of the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT), proposes to bring attention to the great potential of Travel Video Marketing, used to promote Tourism Brands, Destinations, Products and Services.

“Nowadays, video is one of the most important tourism communication tools. Achieving recognition from the general public and also from experts in tourism, marketing, and audiovisual, leverages the destination image and reinforces the pride of the local community”, said Alexander V. Kammel, CIFFT Director.

About CIFFT

Created in 1989, the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT) brings together the World’s Best Tourism Film Festivals from four continents at the most prestigious awards and recognition initiative in Travel Video Marketing Industry - the CIFFT Circuit.

In partnership with the endorsers UNWTO (World Tourism Organization), ETC (European Travel Commission), CTO (Caribbean Tourism Organization), and CATA (Centro America Tourism Association), CIFFT works to encourage tourism destinations to achieve excellence in promoting their products, services, and locations using video.