World’s 1st Instagram Film Festival, the #InstaFilmFest Announces Winner

It's child's play for winner thaOW'ed judges of Royal Caribbean's Instagram Film Festival, #instafilmfest.

When Royal Caribbean International launched the world’s first Instagram Film Festival, the #InstaFilmFest, little did they imagine that they would end up with over 1,000 entries featuring a wealth of thrilling, amusing and beautiful footage.  In the end it was the surprise of a child seeing Santa Claus for the first time.

The competition asked Australians and New Zealanders to submit a 15-second video of “WOW” moments from their life.  The grand finale event was held this afternoon onboard Australia’s biggest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, attended by over 100 media, blogger, Instagramer and travel agent guests.  The movie-themed event also featured a surprise ice-skating show on the ship’s famous ice-rink before the winner was announced.

“We were literally ‘wowed’ by the generosity of people who shared their special moments with us for the InstaFilmFest,” said Adam Armstrong, commercial director, Royal Caribbean International Asia Pacific. 

“Altogether, we have an incredible amount of ‘WOW’ footage – enough for more than two feature length films.  At Royal Caribbean we ‘deliver the WOW’ to thousands of guests every day so it was very exciting to share in so many personal WOW moments – both on our ships and in their everyday life.”

The winning entry follows the delightful reaction of three year old Harry (Santa’s number one fan) when he realises St. Nick has come to pay him a house visit, running up to him to give him a high five.  The moment was captured by Harry’s aunt, Kristy Rowe, who says she felt lucky to be in the right place at the right time:  “It brought tears to my eyes to see Harry’s reaction and seeing my dad dressed up as Santa.”

Kristy has won a “money-can’t-buy” trip to New York where she will enjoy one of the historic inaugural voyages on the world’s newest superliner Quantum of the Seas which will be launched in November.  Her new world-first ‘WOW’ experiences include: RipCord by iFLY the first skydiving experience at sea which allows everyone from first-time flyers to seasoned skydivers to enjoy the sheer thrill and exhilaration of skydiving in a safe, controlled and simulated environment; and the North Star an engineering marvel taking guests to new heights – literally – with a jewel-shaped, glass capsule, transporting them on a spectacular journey more than 300 feet above the ocean and over the sides of the ship to deliver awe-inspiring 360-degree views.

Royal Caribbean’s InstaFilmFest was judged by star Instagrammers Lauren Bath and Pauly Vella, as well as travel documentary maker Tim Charody and New Zealand pop culture journalist and personality David Farrier.

“When choosing the finalists, as well as the camera skills, the videos had to mean something to me and connect with the audience. The winner was the standout for me – seeing the look on the little boy’s face when he saw Santa Claus really captured that “WOW” moment best. It put a huge smile on my face!” says InstaFilmFest judge Pauly Vella.

The final ten entries short-listed included videos of a crocodile at feeding time, one excited dog’s visit to the beach, a playful seal, spectacular Australian night sky, a dramatic lightning show, a day of contrast in Tasmania, jewel coloured Sydney harbour captured on a ferry ride, a wave “performance” and one surprising fish. 

In a special surprise for the ten finalists, they were all rewarded with a cabin on Voyager of the Seas’ one-night cruise in December this year; a special ‘preview’ event to showcase the features of her multi-million dollar refurbishment before commencing her next Sydney season.  Noel Sandler took out the People’s Choice award for his time-lapsed video of sailing into Sydney harbour, and has won a two night cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas.

Alison Carmichael-Rulten

Hi, I'm Alison Carmichael-Rulten the Publisher of Vacation Goddess, and I want to thank you for visiting Vacation Goddess – the one-stop shop for insider travel news, deals, 'Guest Goddes's stories, and of course our personal travel experiences. Plus, as we love to cruise we also try to find some amazing cruise deals for you too. From luxury, longer escapes right down to weekend breaks we know you love everything travel related. Here at Vacation Goddess, we hope you will find loads of inspiration and of course some amazing travel deals. We love a holiday at a great price and that's why we seek out what we call 'Champagne Experiences, on a Sparkling Wine Budget.' We constantly showcase a variety of special deals and offers and from time to time some very special competitions. Our recent 'Win a Trip to London' competition received over 24,00 entries. We invite you to visit us often, join our mailing list and please tell your friends