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The TV spot “Thank you Earth” made by the advertising agency DEC BBDO and the documentary “Mountaineering to Yushan” by the Taiwanese director Seanwen Yang have been the two big winners of the first edition of terres Catalunya – International Eco & Tourism Film Festival, held from May 31 to June 3 in Tortosa (Tarragona). The first film is an advertisement for just under a minute shot in the Canary Islands, which pays tribute to the planet Earth through such spectacular images that “make words fall short” and has taken the Grand Prize for Tourfilm Competition. The documentary “Mountaineering to Yushan”, filmed in Taroko National Park in Taiwan, shows the view of an aboriginal mountain guide on the activities that can be done on the well-known Jade Mountain of about 4,000 meters in altitude, and was awarded with the Prize for Sustainability, for knowing how to convey the values of the relationship between men and their environment. The jury has valued from both films their technical quality and also the message, according to the chairman of the jury, Swen Waterreus.
The ceremony was attended by director Alexander V. Kammel, president of the International Committee of Tourist Film Festivals (CIFFT). The Awards ceremony was held at the Hotel Villa Retiro in Xerta (Tarragona). It was a dynamic ceremony in which 42 trophies were awarded. Among the winners, special mention must be made of the DEC BBDO agency, which, apart from the Grand Prize for Tourism Communication, has won seven more awards for others such as “Canary’s fog taggers” or “Charcos”, all of which form part of its tourism project in the Canary Islands . And a special mention should also be made of Rob Whitworth’s “Once Upon a Time in Cappadocia” (1st Prize in Travel Destinations, 1st Prize in Routes, Expeditions and Travel and 1st Prizw in Animation.) or Jim Wilmer’s “Water”, which won the Award for the best Photography. “Tuna, Farofa and Spaghetti”, by the Brazilian Ricardo P. Rossi, won the first prize for the best documentary feature film. “Cozumel, a paradise in the Mayan Caribbean”, by Karlos Simón, won the first prize for the best half-length documentary films.
The contribution of the Canary Islands in this first edition of the festival has been very representative and among the winners also include “Memories of a Destination”, Food Design Company, first prize of Gastronomic Experiences, Wine Tourism and Oleotourism “; Or “Where Tenerife?”, The first place prize for the promotion of filming. All the winners have won a trophy representing an olive made from vegetable fiber of palm, typical of the Lands of the Ebro River.
The festival’s director, Santi Valldepérez, from the production company Filmsnòmades, the promoter of the project, has made a positive assessment of this edition, which has selected a total of 98 films from twelve different countries. “We have exceeded the expectations that we had foreseen, both in terms of the number of films registered and the technical and artistic quality,” he said, pointing out that “this encourages us for the second edition.” Valldepérez has also positively valued the holding of the Congress on Landscape, Tourism and Cinema, terres LAB, held on Wednesday May 31st and Thursday June 1st at the Hotel Corona de Tortosa. “We really believe that the Ebro Lands can be a reference for sustainable tourism and audiovisual creation linked to tourism,” he said.
