Austrian filmmakers capture animal life, tourism with winning works

"Africa's Wild West – Stallions of the Namib Desert"

"Giraffe: Up High and Personal"

Austrian films won 10 awards, including two first places and a Best of Festival, in the 2016 U.S. International Film & Video Festival. Nine of the awards were related to travel and tourism.

"Vanishing Kings – Lions of the Namib"

InterSpot Film Gmbh, Vienna, won Best of Festival and a First Place Golden Camera award in Documentary "Vanishing Kings – Lions of the Namib." The film follows a cohort of five male lion cubs as they learn to hunt, survive and rule a kingdom of sun, sand and dust in the Namib desert.  Directors were Will and Lianne Steenkamp; Cinematographer was Lianne Steenkamp with Alan Miller as editor and sound by Roman Kariolou and Johannes Ratheiser.

InterSpot Film also earned a Certificate for Creative Excellence in Documentary for "Africa's Wild West – Stallions of the Namib Desert." Producer was Heinrich Mayer-Moroni; Director: Franz Leopold Schmelzer; and Cinematographer: Lianne Steenkamp.

Terra Mater Factual Studios, Vienna, captured a first place Gold Camera Award for "Wild Weather With Richard Hammond – Episode 1: WIND - THE INVISIBLE FORCE" in Documentary: Feature. The entry also was a nominee for Best of Festival-Documentary. Hammond and meterorlogist Reed Timmer take their Dominator research vehicle into a live tornado and attempt to fire a research probe into its heart. The film also takes the viewer into The Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment Research Institute in London, Ontario, Canada, one of the few facilities in the world capable of generating a real tornado. An additional trip to Mount Washington, New Hampshire, exposes the crew to -50 degrees F. Producer/Director was Graham Booth; Editors were Rama Bowley and Sam Rogers; Composer was Oliver Ledbury, and sound was by Sean Millar and Ashley Charlton. The film was done in conjunction with Oxford Scientific Films.

Terra Mater earned a Second Place Silver Screen Award for "Giraffe: Up High and Personal" and a Certificate for Creative Excellence for "Sri Lanka – Precious Isle," both in Documentary: Features. "Giraffe," done with National Geographic Channel, presents a fresh look at giraffes in the savannah of Kenya, the South African grasslands and the desert of Namibia. Director/Writer was Herbert Ostwald; editor was Christian Stoppacher. Music was by Andy Baum. The film "Sri Lanka," a co-production with airline NDR, is a one-hour trip to the lush locale, whose name means "resplendent island." Aerial Photography was by Simon Werry; sound by Andreas Hagemann; editing and graphics by Christian Stoppacher and music by Paul Movahedi.

The Austrian National Tourist Office, Vienna, received a Silver Screen Award in Corporate: Tourism Films for "Back to Your Own Time: Holidays in Austria," produced by Gebhardt Productions, Mödling. Producer was Jürgen Eckstein, and director was Johannes Grebert with cinematography by Matthias Pötsch and sound by Karuan Marouf.

Also capturing a Silver Screen Award, in Corporate: Specialty Productions, was Plan B Film & Media, Vienna, for its entry "More Than Partnership." The film, done for client Plasser & Theurer Export von Bahnbaumaschinen Gesellschaft m.b.H., Vienna, depicts how the company fosters partnerships for its railway track and construction machinery business in 109 countries. 

Winning Certificates for Creative Excellence in Corporate were Stadtgemeinde Kapfenberg, Kapfenberg, for "Biggest Lipdub Ever," done for client TIQA Werbe-und Marketing GmbH, Leoben, and Vienna Tourist Board for "Vienna/Now."  Piwi Media GmbH produced “Biggest Lipdub Ever,” and Slash produced “Vienna/Now.”