Last week, we were thrilled to announce the winners of our first-ever ICJ video contest, which ran from June to the end of July. As promised, it’s time to go behind the scenes. We’re excited to share how the judging process worked, which stories touched our hearts the most, and celebrate all the incredible videos you created.

More Than a Contest – A Meeting of Stories

Before we get to the judging, we’d like to highlight one extraordinary part of the contest—our Casting Day event. On this day, we filmed videos for participants on-site, giving them the raw footage to edit and craft into their final submissions. It was wonderful to meet so many of you in person. Your stories were not only captivating but also incredibly inspirational. We left feeling energized and inspired, and we hope to share more days like this with you.

We were also amazed by the creativity and skill you brought to the editing process. The videos you produced were truly impressive.

How We Judged: Fairness First

With so many excellent videos submitted, choosing the winners was a real challenge. That’s why we used a transparent scoring system. Each video was evaluated by our four-member jury:

• Anastázie Borkunová – Founder and Owner of ICJ

• Kateřina Ovčiniková – General Director of ICJ

• Hana Stiborová – Marketing Specialist

• Jiří Jakubík – Creative & Video Specialist

What did we focus on?

When evaluating the entries, we focused on several key criteria:

• The power of the story – how authentic and impactful the message was

• Creativity and execution – originality and imagination in the final product

• Story structure and clarity – how well the narrative was constructed

• Technical quality – the quality of both video and audio

• Relevance to the theme – how well the video matched the contest’s brief

• Overall impression – the lasting impact the video had on us

Each jury member also awarded one Jury Prize (2,000 CZK) to the video that personally resonated with them the most. The Public Choice Award went to the video with the highest number of likes on our Instagram.

The Winners Who Captivated Us

🏆 Main Prize (15,000 CZK): Natalia Maletych
Natalia moved us with her sincere and emotional story about learning Czech. She showed us the real journey, complete with all its challenges and joys.

❤️ Public Choice Award (5,000 CZK): Gordey Babichev
Gordey’s video rightfully won the hearts of our Instagram community! His creative approach entertained not only the jury but also hundreds of our followers.

🌟 Jury Awards (4× 2,000 CZK):

• Julie Vitkosenko: For the fresh originality and authenticity in her video.For her unique perspective on studying at ICJ.

• Daria Akimova: For her inspirational take on the contest’s theme.

• Galina Poterukha: For her inventive and creative storytelling style.

• Iris Darbinyan: For her unique perspective on studying at ICJ.

Want to See All the Videos?

Curious to see the diversity and creativity our students showcased? You can find all the competition entries on our Instagram @icj.cz under the relevant hashtags. Each one is worth watching!

What’s Next?

During the last week of August, we will be contacting all the winners to arrange their prizes. We can’t wait to hear their reactions!

The official award ceremony will take place at a special event in early September. Stay tuned to our channels—invitations will be sent out soon.

Thank You, and We Look Forward to Next Time!

Finally, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all participants for their energy, ideas, and enthusiasm. Your videos showed us how much you enjoy your studies and the connection you’re building with ICJ. For us, that is the greatest reward.

We’re already looking forward to your next creative projects and can promise this certainly wasn’t our last video challenge