Chiliadou Beach, on the island of Evia, Greece, is the winner of the sixth edition of the EUFCN Location Award, the award for best European location in the film and TV industries organized by EUFCN – The European Film Commissions Network.

The natural landscape of Chiliadou Beach emerged as one of the protagonists of Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness. The location washed by the Aegean Sea was featured as the castaway island where the characters find themselves after the explosion of the yacht.

The award was accepted by Maria Koufopoulou, Director of the Hellenic Film Commission, and by Markos Holevas, President of the Greek Film Centre, during the EUFCN Location Award Ceremony at the EFM – European Film Market 2023 in Berlin.

“The EUFCN Location Award is a wonderful challenge and opportunity for all Film Commissions to present their tireless work and significant contribution to the film industry,” says Maria Koufopoulou. “For us, the 2022 Best European Film Location Award is a great honour. It is a chance to showcase the uniqueness and unexpected beauty of Greek locations. Chiliadou Beach became a co-star in Triangle of Sadness and so we hope the same will happen to different locations in Greece, with other similar productions!”

Markos Holevas thanked the Hellenic Film Commission for nominating the film to the EUFCN contest and promoting Greece as a filming destination for international audiovisual productions. “The win of Chiladou Beach, that during the pandemic welcomed the filming of Triangle of Sadness, makes us, the people who saw Greece’s need for extroversion and relevant policy creation for the development of the Audiovisual Sector, elated,” says Holevas.

In Triangle of Sadness, Chiliadou Beach becomes the set of a fight for survival, where social hierarchy is turned upside down, revealing the tawdry relationship between power and beauty.

“This particular award is a special honor for us, and it is proof that our beach, Chiliadou, had a little something to add to the already amazing film by the great Ruben Ostlund,” says Fanis Spanos, Regional Governor of Central Greece.

“A big, warm thank you to the charismatic director, Ruben Östlund, his partners, the production team and the Greek company Heretic, which highlighted the capabilities and opportunities for filming in Greece,” says Angela Gerekou, President of GNTO – Greek National Tourism Organization. “Most definitely, a huge thank you to the European audience. Once again, they displayed with their vote, their love for Greece.”

The 2022 edition of the EUFCN Location Award received a record of over 8.500 votes from the general public. One lucky name picked among the voters will have the chance to travel to Chiliadou Beach and to experience the location in the most authentic way.

“We are impressed and amazed by both the nominations and the engagement for the EUFCN Location Award,” say EUFCN Co-Presidents Carlota Guerrero and Adrian A. Mitchell. “The nominees have proven to surprise both the jury, film commissions, and audience on what wide spectrum of landscape and environment can be found in Europe. Enriched enlightenment is maybe a moderate state of mind for some of us right now, and we look forward to uncovering new European filming locations in the future editions of the Award.”

During the first stage of the competition, EUFCN member film commissions had the opportunity to submit one location from a film or a TV series shot in their territory and released between September 11st, 2021 and October 3rd, 2022.

The EUFCN Location Award Jury, a five-member jury of distinguished professionals composed by Markus Bensch (Production Executive / locations at Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures Gmbh), Olivier Dock (Independent International Advisor in film, audiovisual production and distribution at Whitebench), Harriet Lawrence (Supervising Location Manager – The Key Locations), Vittoria Scarpa (Journalist and Translator at Cineuropa), and former EUFCN President Truls Kontny (CEO and Executive Producer at Evil Doghouse Nordic), evaluated all 20 submissions, focusing on the significant role of the location in the story and its challenging and innovative use inside the audiovisual product.

The finalists of the EUFCN Location Award 2022:
Brissago Islands for Dawn Chorus – Ticino Film Commission (SWITZERLAND)
Chiliadou Beach for Triangle of Sadness – Hellenic Film Commission (GREECE)
Portsoy for Peaky Blinders (Season 6) – Screen Scotland (SCOTLAND)
Schlosshotel Kronberg for Spencer – Film Commission Hessen (GERMANY)
Stari Grad for How I Learned To Fly – Filming in Croatia (CROATIA)

The European Film Commissions Network is a non-profit association that supports and promotes the European film industry and culture. It currently represents 98 European film commissions and film institutions from 30 different countries.