EUFCN: Chiliadou Beach, Greece, Wins Best European Film Location Award

The EUFCN award ceremony at the 73rd Berlinale in Berlin. Photo source: Hellenic Film Commission

Chiliadou Beach on the island of Evia in Greece has been crowned Best European Film Location of 2022 by the European Film Commission Network (EUFCN).

The Greek beach featured in Ruben Ostlund’s “Triangle of Sadness” film, winner of the Palme D’Or at Cannes 2022, as the castaway island where the protagonists find themselves after the explosion of their yacht. The film, which was mostly shot on Chiliadou Beach, is currently nominated for numerous BAFTA and Oscar Awards.

The EUFCN award ceremony took place Sunday during the 73rd Berlinale in the context of the European Film Market in Berlin. The win came as a result of the wide positive response from the audience during the voting stage for the Best European Location Award.

Commenting on the win, Central Greece Regional Governor Fanis Spanos said: “This particular award is a special honor for us and proof that our beach, Chiliadou, had a little something to add to the already amazing film by the great Ruben Ostlund.”

Chiliadou Beach. Photo source: EUFCN

Chiliadou Beach was chosen from among 5 European locations as the best of 2022. The four runner-ups were Great Britain’s Portsoy for “Peaky Blinders”, Switzerland’s Brissago Islands for “Dawn Chorus”, Germany’s Schlosshotel Kronberg for “Spencer” and Croatia’s Stari Grad for “How I learned to fly”.

Greek Film Centre President Markos Holevas thanked the Hellenic Film Commission for nominating the film to the EUFCN contest and promoting Greece as a filming destination for international audiovisual productions and connecting Greek professionals with the international audiovisual industry.

On her part, the president of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), Angela Gerekou, referred to an “important distinction” for Greece, Greek cinema and Greek tourism.

Scene from “Triangle of Sadness”. Photo source: EUFCN

“A big, warm thank you to the charismatic director, Ruben Östlund, his partners, the production team, the Greek company Heretic, which highlighted the capabilities we have for productions in Greece,” GNTO’s president said, while thanking the European audience.

“Once again, they displayed with their vote, their love for Greece. GNTO, along with the Greek Film Centre and EKOME (National Center of Audiovisual Media and Communication), with which we have a Memorandum of Cooperation, we are joining force for the dynamic promotion of film tourism in Greece,” she added.

Following is a video of the Region of Central Greece about Chiliadou Beach and the filming of “Triangle of Sadness” in the area:

This is the second distinction for a Greek location since 2017 when the competition was first established.

In 2018, the Greek island of Corfu was honoured with the same award for the TV Series “The Durrells”.

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.