12. October 2023.

Last week, the first edition of the Festival of Tourist and Ethno Films was held in the town of Krk on the island of Krk, organized by the association Tragom hrvatske baštine and under the patronage of the Town of Krk, the Krk Tourist Board, and the Island of Krk Tourist Board. The program was opened with welcome speeches by distinguished guests and organizers, followed by two panel discussions and an awards ceremony for the best tourist and ethno films.

The first day featured a panel discussion on the topic of island sustainability, followed by screenings of films shortlisted for awards. Already in its first edition, the festival received more than a hundred entries, which confirmed its excellent reception. One of the key highlights of the festival was its concept – awarding tourist boards as the commissioning entities and often the creators of the ideas and scripts, rather than the filmmakers themselves. A professional jury selected 24 ethno and 40 tourist films that competed for the TEF awards.

The second day began with greetings from Vjeko Alilović on behalf of the organizer Tragom hrvatske baštine and the Mayor of Krk, Dario Vasilić. This was followed by the promotion of the tourist film “Make your own movie” by the Kvarner Tourist Board and the premiere of “Camino Krk”, presented by Ivana Kovačić, Director of the Krk Tourist Board. The panel discussion on “Tourism and Heritage”, moderated by host Robert Ferlin, proved to be highly engaging, offering diverse professional perspectives on these topics. The discussion provided a broad context that highlighted the interdependence of tourism and heritage.

After the panel and a break during which participants enjoyed traditional Krk sweets and wine, the festival awards ceremony took place.

In the tourism category, the Tourist Board of the Town of Novi Vinodolski received two awards – one individually and another for a joint video created by the Tourist Boards of Novi Vinodolski, Crikvenica, and the Municipality of Vinodol. The presentation of the Okolotorno event won the award for the best representation of an event, while third place in the audience vote was shared between the promotional film “Pulse of life” from the Crikvenica-Vinodol Riviera and the film “No stress island” from Cres.

“I was truly happy to see that tourist boards from all over our beautiful country submitted their films and that the festival was well received. I believe this is a commendable initiative that managed to gather many high-quality films in one place, providing inspiration by viewing the work of others. I particularly enjoyed the panel on heritage and tourism, which revealed how professionals from different fields perceive those topics and how they envision the future. Through our events, we aim to introduce visitors to the culture, traditions, and history of our region and to create engaging content, which is also crucial for producing an interesting and high-quality film. I’m glad we entered and received an award—it is certainly a great motivation for the future. I wish this festival continued success in the years ahead, which I have no doubt it will achieve,” said Tena Peričić, Director of the Tourist Board of the Town of Novi Vinodolski.