Another very difficult and important topic is the tragedy on the Belarusian border.

Eastern border of Poland. This is where a brutal hybrid war has been going on for months. Hundreds of migrants from the Middle East come to Belarus every day. For many of them, this is a chance for a better life. For the regime in Minsk, it is a blackmail of the European Union and, at the same time, an opportunity to earn huge amounts of money. How does the business behind smuggling people to Europe work? The Turkish underworld earns a lot on the new migration route through the Polish-Belarusian border. Journalists of the TVN Supervisor went to Turkey to show who the people behind the organization of mass migration to the eastern border of the European Union are. How does the world of brokers, smugglers and illegal financial offices work? What is the price of trying to make your dreams come true? How much is human life worth to smuggling mafia? This is what the documentary “Migration Route: Turkey – Belarus – Poland”(TVN S.A.) tells about.

Among the awarded documentaries in individual categories, there are very interesting films that introduce us to the beautiful things of this World. We highly recommend the movie “Passion from the depths of the earth. Alfons Długosz and his life’s work” which tells a story of the founder of the Museum, a tireless enthusiast of Wieliczka, an excellent photographer, visionary and social activist, led to the rescue of many valuable relics from the abandoned chambers of the Salt Mine. His greatest achievement was the creation of a modern museum in 14 chambers of the Salt Mine, protecting the priceless monuments of the material culture of Wieliczka miners: giant mining machines, devices, crystals and works of art. Długosz obtained many of the exhibits as a result of painstaking searches in old, forgotten chambers.

The documentary “VOICES OF A CITY” (ALAMO PRODUCCIONES AUDIOVISUALES CANARIAS ) tells about Madrid: Cradle of poets, center of power, traditional and diverse are some of the many qualities attributable to the city of Madrid, a metropolis open to dreams and opportunities, noisy and harsh, but also charming and welcoming. Voices of a City discovers stories of the present and the past of those who live, build, undertake, manage and work in the city of Madrid; a choral portrait that travels through the city over the course of 24 hours, through the voices and experiences of anonymous and well-known people in which the city of Madrid has its own unique voice in the first person.

The film “The longest mission of a priest that was not bow to the bullets” (TV Północna) is a beautiful story about an extraordinary man. One of the main streets in the heart of the town Pruszcz Gdański is ks. Józef Waląg Avenue. Who was its patron Józef Waląg?

We also recommend the movie “Between dreams and visions” because of the extremely interesting story of Irena Giannakopoulos about discovering the island of Amorgos for the world. Irene Giannakopoulos receives the Zbigniew Żmudzki special award for activities in building great international cooperation in the field of tourism.

And we stop at the beautiful nature documentaries made by experienced filmmakers of the Forest Film Studio of the Polish State Forests in Bedoń:

The film ”THE EUROPEAN POND TURTLE – a unique relic of Polish nature” – The European pond turtle is the only naturally occurring turtle species in Poland. Unfortunately, it is also an extremely rare species in our country, which is in danger of extinction. Active protection, in which foresters are also involved, gives hope that this reptile will not disappear from the Polish landscape. Unfortunately, the main reason for the disappearance of this species is man, who has been destroying its populations and habitats for hundreds of years. For example, in many regions of Europe it was harvested en masse for culinary purposes.

”THE LIFE OF THE FOREST. ORCHIDS” – tells us about The Orchidaceae family, or orchids, is one of the most numerous families on Earth. It includes over 25,000 documented species, and it is estimated that there may be up to 40,000 of these species. The vast majority of species live in the tropics, mainly tropical Asia and South America. However, not everyone knows that in our Polish forests, in our Polish meadows, in our country, we also have representatives of this family of orchids, that is, about 50 species with hybrids. Usually these are not as impressive, impressive plants as in tropical countries, but they are certainly unusual and beautiful.

Very interesting film “Forest pollinators” is a story about bees. Almost 80% of land plant species require bees to survive and reproduce.

Almost 90% of all flowering plants require pollinators to produce seeds. In 2018, the State Forests launched the “Bees return to the forest” project. The project concerns not only the honey bee, but also over 460 species of bees living in the wild in Poland.

And I will end the reportage with the most beautiful award granted by the International Tourfilm Academy for a film that can serve science – the TOURIST OWL Statuette – for the film “Forest rivers” directed by Sławomir Skupiński from the Forests Film Studio of Polish State Forests.

Poland is in the group of countries threatened with water deficit. On the other hand, forests have a beneficial effect on hydrological resources, acting as a water protection and retention facility. Today they are also refuges for wild rivers. Here we have a unique opportunity to observe the still natural processes taking place in the natural environment. The river, naturally meandering among the trees, not squeezed into concrete frames, cleaned, aired, with fallen limbs forming hollows carved by the current, is the essence of nature, a natural place of occurrence and reproduction of fish and other organisms related to this environment.

The Tourist Owl 2022 award is held under the honorary patronage of The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.