The European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN) is organizing its fifth EUFCN Location Award, the annual prize for European locations in the film and TV industries.

The list of five finalists chosen by a professional jury includes the Kornati National Park as one of the shooting locations of Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s fiction feature debut, Murina. 

 Kornati is in the running with four other fantastic European shooting locations:  

• Berlin for The Queen’s Gambit – Berlin Brandenburg Film Commission (Germany)
• Cahir Castle for The Green Knight – Screen Ireland (Ireland)
• Málaga for The Crown (Season 4) – Andalucía Film Commission (Spain)
• Stadlandet for Dune – Western Norway Film Commission (Norway)

The vote for the best location is open to the public via EUFCN’s official website until 31st January 2022. All details about the competition finalists, as well as the link for voting are available HERE. 

The winning location will be decided solely by popular vote, while one lucky name picked out among the voters will win a trip to the winning location.

EUFCN’s jury evaluated all the submissions, focusing on the significant role the location plays in the story and its innovative use within the audiovisual work. 

The jury consisted of Clara Le (Commercial Director at The Location Guide/FOCUS), Alexandra Lebret (Managing Director of the European Producers Club), Eric Mika (President and Publisher at The Film Verdict), John Rakich (Location Scout, President of the LMGI – Location Managers Guild International), and Dennis Ruh (Director of the European Film Market in Berlin).

“The EUFCN Location Award reflects the importance and value of those who strive to provide the audience with the authenticity of a medium. The Award salutes the unsung heroes who find the stunning locations that set the backdrop and bring life to a story while stimulating curiosity,” says juror Eric Mika.

The EUFCN Location Award 2021 will be presented to the winning location and film commission in February, at the European Film Market – EFM 2022 in Berlin.

Murina was shot in the Kornati National Park from 28th September to 5th October 2019, as well as on other locations including the islands of Hvar and Koločep (Kalamota) near Dubrovnik.

Staring in the film are Gracija Filipović, Leon Lučev, Danica Ćurčić and Cliff Curtis. Alamat Kusijanović co-wrote the script with Frank Graziano, while producers are Danijel Pek (Antitalent) and Rodrigo Teixeira (RT Features), with co-producers Zdenka Gold (Spiritus Movens), Jožko Rutar (SPOK Films) and Miha Černec (Staragara).     

“Locations, locations, locations – we, as the film commissioners, are the protectors of these unique and important characters in drama productions,” says EUFCN Co-President Mikael Svensson. “The Location Award is an initiative we strongly believe in, as it highlights and celebrates the fundamental collaboration between film commissions, film location professionals, and location sites across Europe. It is great that we are able to focus on the places that make stories shine and also reward the most worthy location.”

The European Film Commissions Network is a non-profit association that supports and promotes the European film industry and culture. It currently counts 95 European film commissions and film institutions from 31 different countries. 

Cover photographs: Murina shoot on Kornati; a scene of Kornati in Murina (*source: Antitalent production); Kornati (*author: Ivo Pervan/Croatian Tourist Board)