TOURISM FILM VISIT SARAJEVO – WHERE CULTURES EMBRACE WINS SECOND PLACE IN GLOBAL CIFFT AWARDS

The tourism film Visit Sarajevo – Where Cultures Embrace has won second place worldwide in the city promotion category at the annual CIFFT Awards, the most prestigious global competition for tourism films.

PHOTO: SeeSrpska

Speaking to SeeSrpska, Haris Stambolić, brand manager of the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board, highlighted that Visit Sarajevo – Where Cultures Embrace is the most ambitious film project the Tourist Board has undertaken so far.

“We have produced promotional clips before, but we were never fully satisfied. During one working meeting, the President of the Tourist Board gave me a major challenge – to create a serious tourism promotional film about Sarajevo. We engaged a professional Sarajevo production company, Gotiva Video Production, which I already knew delivered excellent work. The film was shot last year and completed in autumn,” Stambolić recalled.

One of the next steps was submitting the film to the CIFFT Circuit, a series of connected festivals held throughout the year, including the Japan World’s Tourism Film Festival, New York Festivals TV & Film Awards, US International Awards in Los Angeles, SILKFEST in Belgrade, Terres Travel Festival – Films & Creativity in Tortosa, Spain, Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards in France, Zagreb TourFilm Festival in Croatia, ART&TUR – International Tourism Film Festival in Portugal, Amorgos Tourism Film Festival in Greece, and Internationale Wirtschaftsfilmtage in Vienna.

“Although we did not submit to the first three festivals in the CIFFT Circuit, here we are in Guimarães, Portugal, at the World Tourism Film Awards. I am very proud of this film. Personally, it was a major challenge that I overcame, and with it, we achieved significant success, including this award,” Stambolić said.

He added that no one expected such a final ranking when the film was first submitted.

“Being second in the world is a huge achievement for us. We are a small country, and in competition with films from around the globe, winning this prestigious award is a major success. Participation in CIFFT and receiving this award is serious promotion that is difficult to pay for,” Stambolić emphasized.

Stambolić also stressed the invaluable importance of such events for promotion and establishing key contacts.

“I had expectations, but CIFFT exceeded all of them. The level of organization, the number of contacts with people from tourism, filmmakers, production companies, agencies, journalists, and jury members who watched the film – it all surpassed expectations. I am thrilled by how many people approached me to meet and congratulate me,” he added.

Plans are already underway for a sequel to the film.

“We have started developing the project and will work with the same production company. We are waiting for the right weather conditions because we want to showcase Sarajevo’s winter and Olympic spirit in the most authentic and beautiful way,” Stambolić concluded for SeeSrpska.