The Hungarian Convention Bureau’s MICE destination short film (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaHwvHP6e3M) – based on a creative concept and script by Graphasel Design Studio – received the Gold Award from the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT), at the world competition of image films in South Africa.

The MICE image film, entered in an eleven-stage year-long international competition, was a finalist in the first round in Japan and one of the winners of the Cape Town edition. „We have built a new path from leisure tourism towards business events, with visuals as part of the identity. When creating the dual brand for the Hungarian & Budapest Convention Bureau, we involved the industry in the broadest possible way for joint thinking with our own project team of experts,” recalls Anna Békefi, Managing Director of the Hungarian Convention Bureau.

At the spectacular Award Ceremony held at the Cape Town City Hall, and presented by Denay Willie, founder of Rainbow Academy, 80 awards were revealed, including Silver, Gold and Grand Prix winners in three categories: DOC & TV, Tourism International and Tourism Africa. The international winners include audio-visual productions from Australia, Austria, Croatia, Fiji, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Uganda and South Africa. 315 entries from 55 countries competed in the festival. The jury panel consisted of professionals from the marketing, tourism and audio-visual sectors.

Further venues will be the tourism festival of Vienna, followed by Zagreb, Spain, France, Serbia, Portugal and Greece. At the end of the event series, the finalists’ scores will be summarised and the most outstanding will be announced as the World’s Best Tourism Films of the year.

Background on the film:

The image film is based on a creative concept and script by Graphasel Design Studio. The film was made by producer Miklós Csorba and director Olivér Lehel, while the narrator was selected through a large international casting process. The professional film crew and HCB worked together for several months to define the destination’s values and calling words. As a first step in the process, workshops were held with focus groups of market partners. The production was true teamwork.

Background on the branding process:

Workshops were organised to answer structured questions to ensure that by the end of the branding process, they would get a clear picture of the values that differentiated Hungarian offers from those of their competitors. In addition to the high quality of Hungarian services, a common response from Hungarian and foreign respondents was the preparedness, problem-solving skills and resourcefulness of the people working in the sector. The slogan Just make a wish was born to make this message a reality. These strengths are essential for the operation of convention bureaux and are not only indispensable but also an added value that needs to be emphasised. „Whatever requirement comes up, we constantly get the feedback from our clients that we know no impossible, we can arrange anything, our professionals are magicians”, as we heard from the industry at the workshop. „For me, the greatest value was the many dialogues, the joint work that resulted in this film”, said the director.

They filmed in locations specifically designed to give the audience the atmosphere they would only encounter as a MICE client. The frame story of the film – making sites in Budapest unique with creative and, if required, unusual ideas – is a professional tool of the MICE sector, a FAM trip, hosted by an open-minded, curious, ready-for-action woman for whom nothing is impossible, personifying both Budapest and the convention bureau. The other protagonist is the foreign guest himself, whose character was chosen so that both the association and corporate markets can identify him as a typical client.

It is a joint success for the entire meeting industry that this destination image film has found such good resonance in an international competition. It’s public domain, so please feel free to use it!