A gigantic success of the Polish film, and here's the news. They didn't expect this
Polish tourist promo video named best in the world at prestigious international awards
11:15, 03.12.2024
Polish tourist promo video named best in the world at prestigious international awards A video to attract tourists to the western Polish city of Wrocław has been named the world’s best promotional film at the prestigious CIFFT Awards in Valencia.
A video to attract tourists to the western Polish city of Wrocław has been named the world’s best promotional film at the prestigious CIFFT Awards in Valencia.
Full of fast-paced action, the film mimics the style and spirit of the Indiana Jones movies. Photo: Grupa MagicLine
Titled ‘Wrocław: City of Adventure,’ the three-minute film was described by the committee as “a thrilling cinematic journey that combined the excitement of an adventure film with the rich historical tapestry of Wrocław, a city that holds secrets dating back to the 7th century.”
The committee added: “The film, stylized as a trailer for an epic adventure movie, follows the protagonists, Filip and Natalia, as they embark on a quest to uncover a long-lost treasure hidden for centuries.
“The film seamlessly integrates historical facts with a captivating fictional narrative, urging tourists to uncover the hidden gems that make Wrocław a city of endless adventure and discovery.”
Full of fast-paced action, the film mimics the style and spirit of the Indiana Jones movies to weave its narrative around Piotr Włostowic, a wealthy medieval nobleman who was entombed—along with his treasures—in the city’s Ołbin Abbey.
Fearing the town’s capture by the Turks, city authorities dismantled the abbey in the 16th century to prevent it from being ransacked and its more valuable elements were embedded in buildings around the rest of Wrocław. This, says the video, was the last time the sarcophagus was sighted.
The film hangs its plot around this subtext, telling viewers that Włostowic’s riches have been sought after over the centuries “by Turks, Nazis and the Soviets.”
Following the finest traditions of the Indy trailers, the video has everything from slick, sweeping action shots to a soaring orchestral score, all neatly linked by a gravel-voiced narrator.
Presenting Marianna Zydek and Piotr Nerlewski as the protagonists Natalia and Filip—her as the feisty damsel, him as the cavalier hunk—the duo find themselves tracked by a shadowy villain played by the acclaimed actor Daniel Olbrychski as they hunt for the tomb.
Flanked by henchmen, we see Olbrychski pursue the couple in a high-speed boat chase before leaving them bound together in a spooky, candlelit cellar. Gloriously filmed, the fast-paced caper features no shortage of striking shots of the city’s best-loved landmarks.
The film—which was dubbed into English, Spanish, German and Czech—was viewed 17 million times on Facebook and Instagram between mid-June and the end of August, and almost three million times on YouTube.
The short, which won the ‘Cities’ category of the CIFFT Awards, is no stranger to plaudits, having previously been awarded a Silver Dolphin at the Corporate Media & TV Awards in Cannes, and won recognition at a slew of other festivals, among them the US International Film and Video Festival, the Terres Film Festival in Tortosa, Spain and Silkfest in Belgrade, Serbia.
Explaining the idea behind the short, the film’s producers, Grupa MagicLine, said: “Our main goal was to highlight the values and characteristics that are important in the city of Wrocław—more than a thousand years of history associated with various nations has left its lasting imprint on architecture, culture, culinary and other aspects of city life... In addition, the spot shows that it is impossible to get bored in Wrocław!”
