Earlier this year, Royal Caribbean International announced that they would host the world's first Instagram film festival.* But the cruise line has more surprises in store - now announcing the all-important judging panel of the competition. Lauren Bath, Pauly Vella (both of whom are amongst the most prolific Australian photographers on Instagram), Tim Charody (travel documentary maker) and David Farrier (New Zealand pop culture journalist and personality) have been appointed to choose the winners of this unique competition. Each person on the panel of judges has been chosen to be involved in the competition because of their unique skills. Bath and Vella are Instagram photography gurus - they know just what it takes and how to create images that gets almost 20,000 likes on Instagram. Farrier's quirky, irreverent and humorous approach to sharing trends has earned him an avid Instagram following. And Charody has made travel documentaries on pretty much every continent on earth and has been testing his limits capturing wow moments for over six years. Plus, each of the judges has an innate passion for travel. This combination will enable them to spot the very best WOW moments from Royal Caribbean's local Instagram community.

Adam Armstrong, Commercial Director, said: "Royal Caribbean is thrilled to be hosting the world's first Instagram film festival and now we can reveal the judging panel. Royal Caribbean is delighted to be working with Lauren Bath, Pauly Vella, Tim Charody and David Farrier on this world first event. These judges are experts in their fields. They each lend us their very special knowledge of both technical photography and film making, and also their insights into the Instagram platform, not to mention their passion for travel. All of these components will contribute to their decision of who deserves to win the amazing prizes that are on offer. We can't wait for even more WOW moments to be shared by our guests and the Instagram community via the hashtag #InstaFilmFest." 
   

The Royal Caribbean InstaFilmFest grand finale will take place onboard a Royal Caribbean superliner in Sydney harbour in early 2014. Finalists and VIPs will be invited to the exclusive event, where the finalists’ videos will be shown and the winners will be announced.* The winner of this world’s first event will win a cruise and there will also be a prize for the most popular WOW moment (People’s Choice). Plus, everyone who votes for their favourite WOW moments will go into the draw to win a Black Edition GoPro camera.

Royal Caribbean has two superliners and one megaliner based locally from for the summer cruise season which has just begun – Rhapsody of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas. The ships sail to an array of exciting ports in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific until April 2014.

Royal Caribbean ships are “designed for WOW”, featuring innovative onboard experiences that cannot be found on other cruise lines – such as rock climbing walls, speciality dining restaurants, DreamWorks character parades, cupcake decorating classes, surfing simulators, an ice skating rink and much more.**

About Lauren Bath

Lauren is a Chef turned Photographer turned Digital Influencer thanks to her success on the photo sharing app Instagram. Since launching on Instagram just over two years ago, Lauren has reawakened a long dormant interest in photography to grow one of the biggest Instagram profiles in Australia. Taking the plunge to turn her success on Instagram into a career has seen Lauren travel all over Australia and now the world, with recent jobs in Canada and Fiji. When her feet have a minute to touch the ground, the Gold Coast is home. With an eye for simple “social style” compositions and beautiful landscapes Lauren continually works to improve her own photography. Lauren taught herself everything she knows about photography.

About Pauly Vella

By day Pauly is an air conditioning mechanic but in his free time, he’s amassed a staggering 260,000 followers on instagram. His fans applaud the beautiful and striking images mostly expressed with his love for the ocean and wildlife. Based in Sydney, Australia Pauly became obsessed with instagram ever since he heard about it. He never imagined he would create such a stir on the platform or that it would lead him to new and interesting destinations including Hamilton Island, The Great Ocean Road Victoria, Tasmania and even internationally the beautiful Mediterranean paradise of Malta. With a kind eye for detail, Pauly has his sights on a bright future in pursuing his dreams in not only his much loved home of Australia but all over the world.

About Tim Charody

What can be said of a guy who has had a picnic on the banks of the River Ganges at midnight with a real-life cannibal, has dangled from 150 meter cliffs in the Himalayas, who has battled crocodile infested rivers in the Northern Territory and dined on deadly puffer fish in Japan?Whatever you want to call it, there is no doubt that Tim Charody is extremely adventurous and there really is nothing he wouldn’t do to get the story. It has been his inquisitive and daring nature that has seen Tim’s films captivate viewers across Australia and the world. He has filmed and presented on almost every continent on earth. A Sydneysider, there isn’t anything Tim loves doing more than taking his viewers on an adventure of a lifetime through some fascination far-flung land, inspiring them to follow in his footsteps – and he’s spent the last six years doing just that.

About David Farrier

From interviews with The White Stripes, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ozzy Osbourne, to reporting Michael Jackson’s death in LA, tech competitions in Poland and cat shows in Taradale, David Farrier is a leading entertainment and technology television journalist and personality in New Zealand. With his fingers firmly on the pulse of popular culture, David has been a television reporter on 3News for eight years, working across most of the network’s news shows – including prime time, Nightline, and Campbell Live, and also writes music features for Rip It Up magazine and the New Zealand Herald. The lone Kiwi judge on the panel, David brings a unique perspective to film reviewing

About the Instagram Short Film Competition
 

Over 400 people have captured their WOW moments in 15 seconds of video footage and uploaded to Instagram via the hashtag #InstaFilmFest to date, and the winners will be announced at a grand finale event in early 2014.* Royal Caribbean’s InstaFilmFest was created to celebrate the moments in life that take your breath away – or even just make you smile. An unforgettable sunset, waves lapping at your favourite beach, indulging in a beautiful meal, a baby’s first steps, the look on the guest of honour’s face at a surprise party – the possibilities for WOW moments entries are endless – and not just limited to cruising or holidays.
 

Royal Caribbean’s InstaFilmFest short film competition is part of a brand campaign which celebrates WOW moments. The “Designed for WOW” marketing campaign represents the biggest local marketing investment by Royal Caribbean in the Australasia region to date. A microsite has been created to anchor this fully integrated campaign which spans across online and offline channels both above and below the line.
 

Royal Caribbean is proud to be working with Hulsbosch, an award winning strategic brand and design company specialising in the travel sphere, and Circul8, an innovative and dynamic social media agency, on this project.

Useful Links

InstaFilmFest microsite: instafilmfestival.com.au Royal Caribbean AU & NZ Instagram: instagram.com/royalcaribbean_aunz Royal Caribbean AU & NZ Facebook: facebook.com/rciaustraliaandnz Royal Caribbean AU & NZ YouTube: youtube.com/rciaustraliaandnz For more information about Royal Caribbean International, visit:RoyalCaribbean.com.au   Additional media materials can be found at: newsboost.com/newsroom/rcl-cruises-ltd 
 

*For full competition terms and conditions, visit: www.instafilmfestival.com.au 

**Facilities vary per ship.   

RCL Cruises Ltd Australia commenced operation in December 2008 as the Australian arm of global cruise holiday company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.  The company offers three cruise brands in Australia and New Zealand: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. Royal Caribbean International has three ships sailing in the region: Voyager of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas.  This is in addition to two Celebrity Cruises ships, Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Millennium. 

For additional information or to a make reservation, visit: royalcaribbean.com.au, contact your travel agent or call 1800 754 500. Travel professionals can call 1300 754 500 or visit: cruisingpower.com

For more information, please contact:
Tessa Anderssen                                                                                                      
RCL Cruises Ltd Australia, PR Manager 
P: 02 9281 2230
E: tanderssen@rcclapac.com                          


The D’Arcy Partnership
Harriet Gilmore                               
P: 02 9937 5491                                                                                                  
E: harriet@darcypr.com