The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Zurab Pololikashvili will recognize the Ibero-American film industry´s commitment to sustainability, openness and inclusivity at the upcoming Platinum Awards of Ibero-American Cinema (12 May, Xcaret, Riviera Maya, Mexico).
Now in its 6th year, the Platinum Awards Gala is a highlight of the Ibero-American film industry calendar (comprising the 19 Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of Latin America and Andorra, Portugal and Spain in Europe). For the 2019 edition, the event organizer, future UNWTO affiliate member EGEDA (Society of Services for Audiovisual Producers), is awarding 17 prizes, one for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili will present the prestigious Platino Award for Cinema of Educational Value. The prize celebrates works that reflect the values of the UNWTO itself, including solidarity, integrity and inclusiveness. With UNWTO also focusing this year on Education, Skills and Employment, Mr. Pololikashvili will recognize films with notable pedagogic value and works that can, like tourism, stimulate economic growth, drive development and foster inclusion and understanding.
“The Platino Awards celebrate the very best in Latin American filmmaking and highlight the immense creative talent of the region,” Mr. Pololikashvili says. “They also show the way film, like travel, can bring us together and inspire in us a sense of wonder about the wider world. Just as with tourism, when it’s done well, film can foster a sense of solidarity and it can also help conserve and celebrate our unique and our shared cultural heritage.”
Ahead of EGEDA joining more than 500 public and private institutions as an affiliate member of UNWTO, the two parties will also use the opportunity of the Platinum Awards Gala to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. This MoU will build the foundations for a strong future relationship between the two parties.
