May 28, 2020 - At the prestigious American festival the Telly Awards, which was held for the 41st time, Croatian tourism films again won big.

HRTurizam reports that the Telly Awards showcases the best works recorded for television and other media each year. The festival received more than 13,000 entries from all five continents, and the winners of the Telly Awards represent the work of some of the most respected advertising agencies, television stations, production companies and publishers from around the world.

The films of the production company Balduči Film were awarded three big prizes:

• CROATIA YOUR NEXT FILMING DESTINATION - gold for the best film in the category promotional film Travel / Tourism

• CROATIA YOUR NEXT FILMING DESTINATION - gold in the category Branded Content: Videography / Cinematography, for which the cameraman Jalil Armijo is responsible

• RIJEKA - I miss you - the silver winner of Telly in the category Branded Content: Travel / Tourism

The films were written by Spomenka Saraga, who is also the producer, directed by Herve Tirmarche and cameraman and editor Jalil Armi.

"In ancient times, Socrates said that there are no coincidences and that every coincidence happens for a reason. That's how we in the team think. When you win the first prize, you think by accident, but when the prizes happen often and for almost every film in our production, we are convinced that this is the reason for the quality of our films. We are sorry when some clients do not trust us, do not want to pay the registration fee for participating in the festival, but they congratulate us and look forward to mutual success. I believe in my team, I believe in our films that have recognizable handwriting, and yet they are different. Every award makes us happy, from the smallest to the largest and every award is welcome because it has a motivating effect. We are often not awarded at a festival, sometimes we do not enter the final round, but we still send our next film to the festival aware that we cannot always win - but we like to compete and prove ourselves. The selection of the winners is a matter of the jury's taste, the number of films received and it is often difficult to decide who is better - I know this from my own experience as a jury member at many festivals," said Spomenka Saraga, producer and screenwriter of the award-winning films.

So far, these films have already won several awards: at the largest ITB tourism fair in Berlin, the silver at the jubilee 20th edition of THE GOLDEN CITY GATE festival, and the silver at the New York Festivals for the film RIJEKA I MISS YOU, which is normally awarded in Las Vegas during the NAB show, which like the ITB in Berlin was not held, so the prizes will be delivered to by mail.

"The films compete in several more festivals and expecting results, we hope for some more awards," concluded Saraga.

Films produced by BALDUČI FILM have won over 50 world awards and recognitions in the last 13 years, the Grand Prix, and the films UNIQUE DUBROVNIK and DUBROVNIK AND TIME have entered the top 10 tourist films in the world.

You can watch the movies in the attachment.

CROATIA YOUR NEXT FILMING DESTINATION

The film CROATIA YOUR NEXT FILMING DESTINATION was made with the support of the Croatian National Tourist Board, interestingly without the support of HAVC, in order to promote Croatia as an excellent destination for shooting all types of films.

RIJEKA I MISS YOU 

The film RIJEKA I MISS YOU was shot for the Tourist Board of the City of Rijeka, and Croatian actors also took part in the film: Alen Liverić, Natalija Đorđević, Jana Škrgulja, Edi Ćelić, photographer Iva Znaor and girl Lara Zgrablić. In addition to the actors, there are other members of the team: Bobby Grubić, Robert Kalčić and Pavle Kaplanec.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

With summer right around the corner, you're probably looking for a bit of travel inspiration to finally book that much-needed holiday you plan on taking this year. Thankfully, two popular Croatian destinations might just be the scratch to your travel itch. 

Namely, the promotional film of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Tourist Board titled "Dubrovnik Riviera”, which was directed by Herve Tirmarche, filmed by Jajij Armija and produced by Spomenko Sarage and Balducchi Film, won the first place and the gold medal at the American Telly Awards festival, reports HRTurizam on May 22, 2019. 

The second place at the festival was awarded to the promotional film"Visit Lika”, created by the Tourist Board of Lika-Senj County under the baton of Bobby B. Grubic, a three-time Emmy winner. The video was also produced by Spokesman Sarage and Balducci Film.

The Telly Awards each year showcases the best works recorded for television and other media. Over 12,000 entries from more than 50 countries on five continents are received each year. The winners of the Telly Awards work from some of the most prestigious advertising agencies, television stations, production houses and publishers around the world.

The Telly Awards are judged by the jury, or members of the Council that is made up of more than 200 members, active professionals from various areas of television, marketing, and the like. This year, the Telly Awards celebrated 40 years. 

These two Croatian promotional films have already won several silver and bronze prizes at the world’s largest travel fair ITB, 2nd place by the jury and the best tourist film by student tourism management in Japan, and the bronze prize at "New York Festivals" which was awarded in Las Vegas during the "NAB Show" media event.

You can find the full list of Telly Award winners here, and watch the video compilation of the winners below. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.