Outstanding global tourism campaigns and sustainability initiatives were acknowledged, with Turkiye emerging as the most awarded destination.
Vienna, 1st September 2023. The winners of the Silver Lake Tourfilm Festival (Silafest), the Serbian stage of the CIFFT Circuit, were revealed. Among the works acknowledged by the international jury are remarkable tourism campaigns from across the globe, including entries from Turkiye, France, Uganda, Portugal, Qatar, Switzerland, South Africa, Spain, and Uganda.
The most important award of the festival, the Grand Prix, was assigned to “Go Türkiye, Go to Nature”, created by the FCB Art Group and Polpo Production for the Türkiye Tourism Promotion And Development Agency. This exceptional video also earned two additional accolades: the Blue Danube 1st Place in Tourism Destination Countries and the White Acacia The Best Screenplay.
Turkiye emerged as the most awarded country in this year’s edition, securing honors in multiple categories, including a Blue Danube 2nd Place in Tourism Destination Regions with the series “Go Türkiye. Regions”, a Blue Danube - 1st Place in Tourism Destination Cities, and The Best Promotional Video Campaign with the video “İstanbul is The New Cool”. These awards underscore Turkiye's growing prominence as a destination that values the visual medium in promoting its tourism offerings.
The Silafest, an annual celebration of promotional videos and campaigns centered on tourism and sustainability, features categories such as Country, Region, and City Promotion, Tourism Services, Tourism Products, Independent Travel Videos, and Ecology. This year's event attracted submissions from 30 countries.
In the Country Promotion category, "No Football, No Worries" (Qatar) and "No Drama" (Switzerland) claimed the 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. The series "The Neverending Tourists" (South Africa) and the promotional video "The islands that extend life" (Spain) secured 2nd and 3rd places in the Region Promotion category. In City Promotion, accolades went to "Madrid is Chulo" (Spain) for 2nd place and "The Art of Jimena de la Frontera" (Spain) for 3rd place.
In the category dedicated to Tourism Services, the productions “The Light” (France) and “Mirador Torre Glories” (Spain) were awarded 1st and 2nd places. Turning to the Tourism Products category, “No one upstages the Grand Tour of Switzerland” (Switzerland) received 1st place, “Rwenzori - The Source of Life” (Uganda) the 2nd place, and “Remote Workers | Visit Cascais” (Portugal) the 3rd place.
The Silafest also proudly spotlights national productions, with "Jordan" (Serbia) receiving the Blue Danube Award for Best Independent Travel Video and a Golden Pincum for Best Serbian Promotional Film. "Ewe of Destructions" (Serbia) took home the Golden Pincum for Best Ecological Film Of The Festival and the White Acacia Award for Best Directing.
The official list of winners is available on the festival website. Besides the prestigious awards, the winners of the International Competition also receive points for the CIFFT Rankings, which measure the impact of tourism campaigns worldwide.
Silafest, a longstanding tradition in Veliko Gradiste, Serbia, has been an official member of the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT) since 2010 and part of the CIFFT Circuit competition alongside other esteemed international film festivals.
About CIFFT
The International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT) brings together international corporate and tourism film festivals at an exclusive competition for tourism ads, promotional, and social media videos - the CIFFT Circuit. The competition will define the World's Best Tourism Films of the year, based on the number of awards won in the festivals and the position on the CIFFT Rankings. At the end of the CIFFT Circuit, the most effective tourism videos and the creative talents behind them are celebrated at the World Tourism Film Awards, held in València.
