In Frankfurt, Germany, French car manufacturer Peugeot has announced the winner of its 2019 drone film festival. The jury chose the film Calçada Portuguesa by Bernardo Bacalhau, which combines stunts on a BMX bike with aerial cinematography in Lisbon, Portugal.

Portuguese filmmaker Bernardo Bacalhau beat over 800 other competitors to take first place. He won the grand prize: A bundle of DJI equipment, two Peugeot Traveler MPVs for six weeks’ travelling and 5,000 euros to put towards his next adventure.

DJI and luxury hotel Jumeirah Frankfurt, where the event took place, were co-sponsors of the festival.

“A plethora of filmmakers from all over the world participated in this year’s Peugeot Drone Film Festival,” said Steffen Raschig, Managing Director of Peugeot Germany.

“That was overwhelming, and we are very pleased with the result. Choosing one of the more than 800 submissions was a challenge for the jurors, but they have found a worthy winner in Bernardo Bacalhau’s “Calçada Portuguesa”.”

The name “Calçada Portuguesa” means Portuguese cobblestones. Traditionally they form decorative mosaics underfoot with a combination of white limestone and black basalt, which Bacalhau captured in his film. The focus of the clip is French BMX artist Matthias Dandois, who performs stunts across the Portuguese capital.

“The special attraction of this film is the way Bernardo Bacalhau combined spectacular aerial shots of the wonderful cobblestone patterns and the artistry of Matthias Dandois with a subtle music track that fits the topic,” said Barbara Stelzner, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communication for DJI Europe. “

This is a wonderful example of how drone technology can unleash creative thinking in an innovative and intelligent manner.”

The idea of the grand prize is to provide the winner with everything they need to plan their next creative adventure.

800 submissions from 30 countries

More than 800 submissions from 30 countries around the globe competed in the categories “Landscape”, “Sports”, “Experimental” and “Story Telling”.

While the first three categories required 50 percent of the film being shot with drones, in the “Story Telling” category the threshold was 30 percent.

The jury included Barbara Stelzner, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communication for DJI Europe, director of the Jumeirah hotel in Frankfurt, Daniela Fette-Rakowski, actors Lisa Maria Potthoff, Simon Schwarz, Matthias Brandt and August Zirner, director Stephan Wagner and the editor-in-chief of Focus Online, Florian Festl.