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EUFCN Location Award 2023: Meet the Jury
The European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN) is delighted to announce the Jury for the seventh edition of the EUFCN Location Award, the annual prize for European filming locations. The five distinguished professionals in the industry will select the five locations that will compete for best European filming location of 2023.
Andrea David (Travel Blogger | Filmtourismus), Wendy Mitchell (Journalist, Moderator and Film Festival Consultant), Jerry Odlin (Sales Director of Boutique Editions Ltd), Alison Taylor (Location Manager, 1st Vice President of the LMGI) and Venia Vergou (Producer, member of Crew United Greece) will have the task of evaluating all submissions from EUFCN member film commissions, focusing on the significant role of the location in the story and its remarkable use inside the audiovisual product. The five finalists will be revealed on Nov. 27, 2023.
The EUFCN Location Award was established in 2017. Every year EUFCN members have the opportunity to nominate one location from a film or a TV series shot in their country and released with international distribution that particular year. To be nominated for this year’s edition, the production associated with the location must have premiered in cinemas, festivals, TV, online or on digital platforms between October 3rd 2022 and September 11th 2023. After the selection of the shortlist, starting from November 27th, the general public will have the chance to vote for their favourite location on the EUFCN website. One lucky winner will be picked among the voters and will win a trip to the Best European Filming Location of 2023.
Past winners of the EUFCN Location Award are the City of Gorlitz (Germany), for playing the title role in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel; the Island of Corfu (Greece), in recognition of the role it played in the UK TV series The Durrells; El Hierro, Canary Islands (Spain), intriguing setting of Spanish thriller TV series Hierro; the Pažaislis Church and Monastery Complex (Lithuania), which helped to recreate the splendid and tumultuous reign of Empress Catherine II of Russia in the miniseries Catherine the Great; Cahir Castle (Ireland), a key location for David Lowery’s fantasy film The Green Knight; and last year’s winner Chiliadou Beach (Greece), which emerged as one of the protagonists of Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness.
Below, a focus on each juror.
Andrea David
Andrea David studied tourism management in Munich and wrote her diploma thesis on how films influence our travel decisions. While doing research on film tourism she gained a taste of film-related trips by herself and started travelling to various filming locations. In 2007 she decided to share her experiences regularly on a blog called Filmtourismus.de. A few years later she turned her hobby into a profession as a travel blogger and started to work with tourism boards and film companies to create film-focused travel content. On Instagram she is specialised in aligning film stills with its real-life destinations. Meanwhile she reaches 150.000 visitors per month on the blog Filmtourismus.de and 830.000 followers on @filmtourismus on Instagram. In 2022 she published the travel book “Szene für Szene die Welt entdecken” in German language.
Wendy Mitchell
Wendy Mitchell is a journalist, moderator and film festival consultant. She is a contributing editor and Nordic correspondent at Screen International, the producer of the Sundance London film festival, the UK and Nordic delegate for San Sebastian, curator at Lubeck Nordic Film Days and consultant for Cannes Marche and Berlinale’s European Film Market. She has also been a speaker, mentor or consultant for EAVE, First Cut Lab, The National Film and TV School, the National Film School of Denmark and more.
Jerry Odlin
Jerry Odlin is the Sales Director of Boutique Editions Ltd, publishers of Location International Magazine and Location California Magazine. He has been involved with the ‘’service sector” of the film and TV industry since 1983 with spells working for Kemps (now kftv.com), Variety Magazine, the Creative Handbook (an image-based directory of Europe’s leading commercial photographers) before becoming one of the founders of Boutique Editions in 2003. During its time Boutique, he has published Locations Magazine on behalf of the AFCI, Location UK, Location Germany, the Cannes Lions Daily News as well as providing publishing services to festivals such as MipTV and MIPCOM.
Alison Taylor
Over the course of her 28-year career as a Location Manager, Alison Taylor has had the privilege of working on many recognizable film and television projects for all the major studios including, Disney, Amazon, Netflix, Universal, Warner Bros, Marvel, HBO, Fox, etc. Additionally, Alison is the recipient of multiple California on Location Awards. Her awards were for her work on Southland (2012), Straight Outta Compton (2015), and A Wrinkle in Time (2017) and Insecure (2021). She is an active member of the Location Managers Guild International (1st Vice President), Hollywood Teamsters Local 399 (Trustee), Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Producers Peer Group Executive Committee Member).
Venia Vergou
The former director of the Hellenic Film Commission at the Greek Film Centre (2017-2021) and board member at EUFCN (2019-2021), Venia Vergou has been an insider of the Greek film industry for over 20 years. A film critic. A co-producer of three feature films, as well as Coordinator for documenta 14 and head of communication and film programmer for the Greek Film Archive. She studied Communication and Mass Media in Athens and holds a M.A. in Film Studies and European Cinema from UWE in Bristol, UK. Today, Venia is a member of the Crew United team, responsible for establishing the Greek channel of the biggest European online network for audiovisual professionals.
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 31 different countries.
EUFCN Location Awards 2024: Meet the Jury!
The European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN) is honoured to announce the Jury for the eighth edition of the EUFCN Location Awards. Since its establishment in 2017, the annual prize for European filming locations has been celebrating outstanding achievements in the world of locations and showcasing the incredible talent that contributes to the magic of filmmaking.
Every year EUFCN members submit one location from a film or a TV series shot in their territory and released with international distribution within a specific period. This year, the Jury, consisting of five distinguished professionals from the film industry, will select the shortlist of the five final contenders among the submitted locations and it will also vote for the winner of the EUFCN Location Award 2024, the best European Filming Location of 2024.
Tammy Glover (SVP Production, Sony Pictures Television, USA), Caroline Greville-Morris (Production Designer, UK), Benjamin Hendriks (Supervising Location Manager, Netherlands), EJ Richards (Supervising Location Manager, UK) and Sabine Schulmeyer (Supervising Location Manager, Germany), will evaluate all submissions by the EUFCN members, focusing on the significant role of each location in the story and its remarkable impact on the audiovisual work.
The shortlist of the five finalists will be revealed on December 2, 2024.
“Following the precious feedback by the EUFCN members, this year we elevate our competition by entrusting the decision of the winner of the EUFCN Location Award 2024 to the experts. We are thrilled to announce our Jury this year. Each Juror has an incredible track record in the film industry. Their massive experience on international productions enables them to value the high profile of the diverse locations and their creative use with a sharp eye. It is this diversity across our continent that makes Filming Europe a unique experience for filmmakers across the globe. That is why EUFCN feels obliged to celebrate outstanding achievements in the world of locations’’, underlines Venia Vergou, the new Manager of the EUFCN.
EUFCN proudly presents the members of the Jury.
Tammy Glover (USA)
Tammy Glover is the SVP Production for Sony Pictures Television. Previously, she was the VP Production for Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as Comedy Central. She served as Governor of the Television Academy, representing Production Executives. She is an accomplished musician and composer, touring the world with Sparks as the drummer for Ron and Russell Mael, playing on five of their albums, and appears in Edgar Wright’s celebrated documentary about the band, The Sparks Brothers.
Caroline Greville-Morris (UK)
Inspired to make movie magic from an early age, Caroline learned her craft in the golden age of music videos and artistically creative commercials. She has to date designed seventeen feature and TV films and had a hand in many more as an art director and set decorator. Creating stunning visuals and solving practical problems at the same time are what keep her inspired along with telling stories the most visual way possible.
Benjamin Hendriks (Netherlands)
Benjamin Hendriks is a (supervising) location manager from the Netherlands. After obtaining a master’s degree in Film Studies and Visual Culture, he has been working in the film industry for almost 15 years. He has worked on both domestic and international productions and had the privilege of contributing to projects such as Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, David O. Russell’s Amsterdam, and Atlanta, for which he received a nomination for a Location Managers Guild International Award in 2022.
EJ Richards (UK)
EJ (Emma Jane) Richards is a Supervising Location Manager with a career spanning nearly three decades in the film and TV industry. Their work includes high-profile projects such as Marvel’s Secret Invasion and Netflix’s The Diplomat season 2 – featuring numerous iconic British landmarks including St Paul’s Cathedral and Blenheim Palace. A member of the LMGI, the Television Academy, and the Production Guild of Great Britain, EJ brings extensive experience and insight into location scouting and management and its vital role in visual storytelling.
Sabine Schulmeyer (Germany)
Sabine Schulmeyer is a location professional with 28 years of experience in international film productions. Renowned for her adaptability and artistic vision, she seamlessly transitions between large-scale blockbusters and intimate independent films, tailoring her approach to each project’s unique needs. She worked on notable projects like John Wick 4, Matrix Resurrections, and V for Vendetta. A member of the LMGI since 2019, Schulmeyer served as Key Location Manager for a 2024 Netflix feature and she’s currently working as Supervising Location Manger on an international Apple TV series.
Past winners of the EUFCN Location Award are the City of Gorlitz (Germany), for playing the title role in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel; the Island of Corfu (Greece), recognized for its impact in the UK TV series The Durrells; El Hierro, Canary Islands (Spain), striking setting of Spanish thriller TV series Hierro; the Pažaislis Church and Monastery Complex (Lithuania), which helped to recreate the splendid and tumultuous reign of Empress Catherine II of Russia in the miniseries Catherine the Great; Cahir Castle (Ireland), a key location for David Lowery’s fantasy film The Green Knight; Chiliadou Beach (Greece), which emerged as one of the protagonists of Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness; and last year’s winner Inis Mór (Ireland), the isolated and rugged island that set the tone of The Banshees of Inisherin in a remarkable way.
EUFCN promotes the wide spectrum of landscape across Europe, the creative use of filming locations and it advocates the complex and hard work behind the scouting process which involves film professionals, Film Commissions and local authorities, as well as the economic and social growth of a territory generated by film productions.
EUFCN is a non-profit Association that supports and promotes the European film industry and culture. It currently represents 100 film commissions in 32 countries in Europe.
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EUFCN Renews Board of Directors
The European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN) renewed its Board of Directors through an online vote, which concluded on November 22, 2024.
Teresa Loureiro (Lisboa Film Commission) and Stefanie Rauscher (Vienna Film Commission) were elected as new members of the EUFCN Board. Carlota Guerrero (Catalunya Film Commission), Adrian A. Mitchell (Oslo Film Commission) were confirmed on the Board and as Co-Presidents. They join Zuzana Bieliková (Slovak Film Commission), Tanja Ladović Blažević (Filming in Croatia), Alexandra Luetkens (Film Commission Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein), and Jūratė Pazikaitė (Vilnius Film Office).
The EUFCN Board of Directors, composed of 8 members, is renewed every two years.
The Board agreed to confirm Carlota Guerrero and Adrian A. Mitchell as Co-Presidents and Alexandra Luetkens as Treasurer of the Association. The Board wishes to express its gratitude to Lefteris Eleftheriou (Cyprus Film Commission) for his services as a Board member from early 2022 up till now.
“We are honoured and grateful for the trust we have just received from our fellow members of the EUFCN. To our very competent and engaged Board of Directors, we welcome two highly valuable new members, Teresa Loureiro and Stefanie Rauscher.
We are surely on the right track and confidently looking forward to continuing the work we have started to renew and further develop the EUFCN, creating more opportunities for engaging with the international film community, sharing knowledge and increasing the visibility of the Association and its members.” – Carlota Guerrero and Adrian A. Mitchell, EUFCN Co-Presidents.
“I am proud to join the EUFCN Board of Directors and I look forward to starting this challenge. I believe that EUFCN, with its holistic vision, dynamism and strong capacity for group work, plays a fundamental role in the challenging moments that the European film industry is going through and that lie ahead in the near future.” – Teresa Loureiro, new member of the EUFCN Board of Directors.
“I am very much looking forward to my new tasks as a member of the Board of Directors and to working on EUFCN’s common vision: a future-proof organization through increasing international visibility, strong relationships between members, sustainable appreciation of our members’ wealth of experience and the continuous expansion of our global network.” – Stefanie Rauscher, new member of the EUFCN Board of Directors.
The new EUFCN Board of Directors is therefore composed of:
Carlota Guerrero (Catalunya Film Commission) – Co-President
Adrian A. Mitchell (Oslo Film Commission) – Co-President
Alexandra Luetkens (Film Commission Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein) – Treasurer
Zuzana Bieliková (Slovak Film Commission) – Board Member
Tanja Ladović Blažević (Filming in Croatia) – Board Member
Teresa Loureiro (Lisboa Film Commission) – Board Member
Jūratė Pazikaitė (Vilnius Film Office) – Board Member
Stefanie Rauscher (Vienna Film Commission) – Board Member
EUFCN is a non-profit Association that supports and promotes the European film industry and culture. It currently represents 100 film commissions in 32 countries in Europe.
EUFCN reveals Location Award 2022 Shortlist
The European Film Commissions Network has announced the 5 finalists. The general public has now the chance to vote for their favourite European filming location
The European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN) launched the sixth edition of the EUFCN Location Award, the annual prize for European locations in the film and TV industries, by announcing the names of the 5 locations that will compete for best European filming location of the year.
The 2022 finalists are:
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)
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 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 Jury was 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).
“It may be a basement, a castle, a bridge, a factory, a field or a street. Without a Location there is no film or TV- production and every location is as important as the other,” say EUFCN Co-Presidents Mikael Svensson and Pavlina Zipkova. “EUFCN wants to focus on the spots where the magic is created, by sharing the process and challenges behind the choice of a location, and by celebrating the work of all those involved in the transformation of places that tell stories. Vote for your favourite now!”
The winner of the EUFCN Location Award 2022 will be determined by the general public’s vote.
Click here to vote!
A lucky name will be picked among the voters and will win a trip to the winning location!
Voting opens on Nov. 28th and runs through Jan. 31st 2023. The EUFCN Location Award 2022 will be handed out to the winning location and film commission in February at the European Film Market – EFM 2023 in Berlin.
The European Film Commissions Network is a non-profit association that supports and promotes the European film industry and culture. It currently represents 95 European film commissions and film institutions from 30 different countries.
EUFCN reveals Location Awards 2024 Shortlist
The European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN) has launched the eight edition of the EUFCN Location Award, the annual prize for European filming locations. This year, the competition takes on a new name, reflecting its growing impact: the EUFCN Location Awards.
Five outstanding locations, selected by the Location Awards 2024 Jury, will compete for two distinct awards:
a) The EUFCN Location Award 2024, selected by the Location Award Jury
b) The EUFCN Audience Location Award 2024, selected by the public through online voting
The 2024 finalists are:
Frøya for Billionaire Island – Midgard Film Commission Norway (NORWAY)
Mdina for Napoleon – Malta Film Commission (MALTA)
Schönbrunn Palace for The Regime – Vienna Film Commission (AUSTRIA)
Staatsoper Stuttgart for Cranko –Film Commission Region Stuttgart (GERMANY)
Tajogaite Volcano for La hojarasca – Canary Islands Film (SPAIN)
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 Sept. 12, 2023 and Sept. 28, 2024.
The Location Awards 2024 Jury, composed by Tammy Glover (SVP Production, Sony Pictures Television, USA), Caroline Greville-Morris (Production Designer, UK), Benjamin Hendriks(Supervising Location Manager, Netherlands), EJ Richards (Supervising Location Manager, UK) and Sabine Schulmeyer (Supervising Location Manager, Germany), evaluated all 14 submissions by the EUFCN members, focusing on the significant role of each location in the story and its remarkable impact on the audiovisual work.
‘’It’s a privilege to serve on the jury and be part of celebrating the exceptional work presented this year. The creativity and diversity of the submissions is inspiring – making it no easy task to narrow them down. My deepest admiration goes to all the contributors and I’m grateful to have been part of the process!’’ – Tammy Glover, Senior Vice President Production for Sony Pictures Television.
‘’As location managers working in Europe, it is very nice to see that filming on location is being put in the spotlight and the importance is being recognized, which of course will help elevate our profession. It is truly an honor to have been asked as jurors for the EUFCN Location Award. It is very interesting to see all the different locations, especially the variety within the submissions. Like previous years, it has been difficult to put the final list together’’ – Benjamin Hendricks, EJ Richards and Sabine Schulmeyer, Supervising Location Managers, members of LMGI – Location Managers Guild International.
‘’It has been so fascinating to review films based on the location, and the location’s role in each piece. The short list is incredibly eclectic, including wild and rugged landscapes and astounding architecture both historical and fiercely contemporary. As a production designer I have been fascinated by the way that the location has supported the visual storytelling and in at least one of the films, almost playing a visceral role itself. This is by no means an easy gig! ‘’ – Caroline Greville-Morris, Production Designer, member of BFDG – British Film Designers Guild.
The winner of the EUFCN Audience Location Award 2024 will be determined by the public.
Online public voting opens on December 2, 2024 and closes on January 31, 2025.
Everyone can vote here: https://eufcn.com/location-awards-2024/
One lucky voter will win a trip to the winning location of the “EUFCN Audience Location Award”.
The Ceremony of the EUFCN Location Awards 2024, celebrating the winners, the best European filming locations of the year, will take place during the European Film Market / Berlinale 2025 in February.
EUFCN promotes the wide spectrum of landscape across Europe, the creative use of filming locations and it advocates the complex and hard work behind the scouting process which involves film professionals, Film Commissions and local authorities, as well as the economic and social growth of a territory generated by film productions.
EUFCN is a non-profit Association that supports and promotes the European film industry and culture. It currently represents 100 film commissions in 32 countries in Europe.
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