GIFF 2023: Award winners, wrap-up, and upcoming intermission
This past November, over 14,000 geocachers came together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Geocaching International Film Festival (GIFF). We celebrated the 18 GIFF Finalist films from movie theaters, garages, drive-ins, and outdoor locations across the world. Overall, it was another great reminder of what we love about geocaching and how geocaching connects us all.
The votes have been counted, and we are excited to present this year’s film festival awards: the Signal Award and the People’s Choice Award.
First we announce the Signal Award winner, selected by a panel of geocaching community volunteer reviewers from around the world. They chose this Signal Award winner for its overall excellence as a geocaching short film. The judges considered production quality, content, creativity, and contribution to the global geocaching community.
This year’s Signal Award winner is…
Tilius Travel from Germany
Congratulations to the filmmakers of the TiliusTravel team: Thorro, Occultator, and der_SiR!
In the heartwarming story of Tilius Travel, Tilius the Travel Bug® gets separated from his creator and has to find his way back in a series of adventures through the Black Forest. He encounters geocachers, geocaches of all shapes and sizes, and the dangers of the wilderness. It’s one trackable against the world on an epic journey to return home.
Here’s what some reviewers had to say about this film:
“A really nice and fresh idea, very well executed. The filming was really high quality. Awesome! :)”
“This was the most creative, fun and heartwarming of the entries by far. I was rating them all on a scale of 1-5 but when I got to this one I gave it all 10’s…”
For the fourth time, the geocaching community voted for their favorite film in a global vote for the 2023 People’s Choice Award. Thank you for participating!
This year’s People’s Choice winner is…
Geocare – Home for the Aged Geocacher from Australia
Congratulations to the filmmaker chooknchunk!
Geocare – Home for the Aged Geocacher is a hilarious glimpse into the future of geocaching. This lighthearted film shows a group of elderly geocacher residents as they attempt, with the help of their nurses, to find a newly-published geocache. Relatable, witty, and containing a surprise twist, this film resonates with many dedicated geocachers and was by far a fan favorite.
Here’s what some People’s Choice voters had to say about this film:
“Really funny with a great twist at the end!”
“Thank you for sharing a glimpse into the future. My closest geocaching friends & I now have a place to retire!”
“Each and every geocacher is getting older every day! This film seemed to resonate with each watching geocacher. Here’s hoping that aged care facilities will, from here on, provide geocaching to their residents!”
Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all the filmmakers for contributing to an amazing season of GIFF fun. See the winners for yourself and watch all the GIFF 2023 finalist films.
It wouldn’t be a GIFF wrap-up without numbers!
Here are some GIFF 2023 numbers:
Over 11 days, geocachers logged over 14,000 Attended logs on registered GIFF Events.
58 film submissions from 21 different countries
18 finalist clips from 11 different countries
549 total Events in 46 different countries, including 547 regular Events and 2 Mega-Events
10,000+ votes for the People’s Choice Award
GIFF Intermission
With GIFF 2023 behind us, it’s time to talk about the future of GIFF—“after GIFF is before GIFF,” as they say.
With the 25th anniversary of geocaching coming up, there are exciting things in store! GIFF will take a brief ‘intermission’ in 2024 so that we can roll out the red carpet again in 2025 for a special year of festivities, giving the community plenty of time to dream up your next videos!
We truly appreciate your support and appreciation for GIFF over the years. Thanks to the geocaching community, a small amateur film festival was able to grow into a global phenomenon with dozens of film submissions, hundreds of Events, and thousands of attendees year after year—you’ve made 10 years of GIFF possible!
The GIFF gnomes still have a lot in store for future festivals. Stay tuned for when it’s time for something a little GIFF-erent again!
