“Discover the mysterious Lower Silesia!”
wins GRAND PRIX FilmAT Festival 2024
During the 19th edition of the FilmAT festival, the GRAND PRIX award once again went to Lower Silesia. The new spot advertising the region’s tourist attractions gained the greatest recognition from the international jury, which appreciated this picture full of beautiful cinematography and rich in content.
The production was commissioned by the local government of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and is a part of the region’s advertising campaign, with Tomasz Kempski and By People responsible for its production. The spot was directed by Michał Radziejewski. To show the diversity of Lower Silesia, the team traveled 2,000 kilometers, and to reach the widest possible audience the spot was created in five languages and several versions. The spot could be seen on national and regional television, the Internet, social media, public transportation in Poland’s largest cities, regional railroads across the country, as well as on airplanes.
Lower Silesia is a region hiding many secrets, and this is not an empty advertising slogan! The secrets of this land are hidden by countless monuments, and it has the largest number of palaces and castles in Poland, old towns with medieval origins and diverse nature, which can be surprising here.
The complicated history of this part of Poland located at the crossroads in the heart of Europe, on the borderland of countries and cultures, provokes much reflection. Since the Middle Ages, Lower Silesia has been the arena of many important events in the history of Poland, Bohemia and Germany. The winds of history have sometimes blown exceptionally hard here, especially during World War II.
Instead, numerous renowned spa towns with centuries of tradition allow us to take care of our bodies.
Among the historical sites, the most mysterious seem to be the castles located among the mountains. In the film we can see Czocha Castle, which is rumored to have housed an Abwehr cipher school during World War II. At Książ Castle, we can dive into the secrets of the aristocracy. The former residence of the Hochberg princely family once delighted Michel Jackson himself.
Also full of monuments is Wroclaw, the capital of Lower Silesia, which bustles with life all year round, and the growing number of tourists from all over the world each year testifies to the popularity of this city full of beautiful townhouses and churches. Landmarks such as the University located on the Oder River, the famous Centennial Hall, and the modern and huge Wroclaw Zoo are also must-see places for tourists.
Wroclaw is the largest, but only one of many picturesque and history-rich cities in the region. After all, there are also Świdnica, Legnica, Wałbrzych, Kłodzko, or Boleslawiec, famous for its distinctive hand-decorated ceramics.
Lower Silesian nature can also surprise, such as the characteristic flat tops of the Table Mountains. One could get lost here in the maze of the Błędne Skały (Wandering Rocks in Polish), fortunately the trails are well marked.
Natural attractions also include the Land of Extinct Volcanoes. This geologically interesting area between Legnica, Jelenia Góra and Strzegom was shaped by volcanoes that are no longer active, but the most ancient of which are up to half a billion years old.
Completely different landscapes can be contemplated in the wide-spread Barycz valley, which is a habitat for many species of birds but also a place of recreation. It is worth mentioning that the Milicz Ponds located there are a potentate in carp breeding.
The natural environment of Lower Silesia is also associated with the most numerous spas in Poland – Cieplice was already visited by Queen of Poland Maria Kazimiera Sobieska! The film features, among others, the beautiful historic Zdrój Wojciech from Lądek-Zdrój, but visitors are also invited to Kudowa, Szczawno, Polanica, Świeradów or Duszniki. In the last of these, in the unique Museum of Papermaking, we can learn the mysteries of paper. But each of these localities offers not only therapeutic services, but also proximity to many monuments and beautiful nature.
It is not a mystery that the values of Lower Silesia are becoming increasingly appreciated.
According to the Lower Silesian Tourist Organization, 13.5 million tourists and one-day visitors visited the region in 2022 – 20% of them came from abroad. This places the region on the podium in terms of tourist traffic, behind regions of Małopolska and Mazovia. The accessibility of Lower Silesia is influenced not only by the hospitality and openness of its residents and the developed and diverse tourist infrastructure, but also by the developed rail and road network and the international airport in Wrocław. It is becoming ever easier to get here both from different corners of Poland and the world.
We invite you to watch the award-winning production. At the same time, we warn you that the film does not present all the secrets of the region, those are best to discover on the tourist trail. See you in Lower Silesia!
”Discover mysterious Lower Silesia!”
GRAND PRIX FilmAT Festival 2024
Text: Wojciech Jaworek
Photos: footage from the film “Discover the mysterious Lower Silesia!”