Out of 1,364 films submitted, our selection committee chose 63 titles – all of them will be shown at the new editions of the aforementioned events from September 6 to 10 in Karlovac, Croatia
The 27th Youth Film Review and the 15th Four River Film Festival will be organized by the Croatian Film Association and the Cinema Club Karlovac from September 6 to 10, 2022. The competition program will include a total of 63 films in four categories – fiction, animation, documentary and freestyle.
After two years of festival editions held during the pandemic which included a combination of online and live programs, the organizers are happy that this year the yellow films in Karlovac are finally coming back live!
The selection committee for the 27th Youth Film Festival and the 15th Four River Film Festival consisted of Ph.D. Ana Đordić, professor of Croatian language and philosophy and doctor of filmology, film critic Boško Picula and director of photography and director Dinka Radonić. In the past months, the trio diligently watched the submitted films in order to choose the best of the best for the festival release.
“After two years during which the young filmmakers from Croatia and the world had to create in extraordinary circumstances due to the pandemic, the number and quality of their works is astounding. Their love for film art is indestructible, and the submissions that arrived to Karlovac this year from Croatia and from almost all continents confirm that creativity is the most imaginative in the most difficult conditions,” said Boško Picula.
These facts prove that true love survives even in the most difficult conditions – neither the pandemic nor the impossibility of making films under regular conditions have shaken young filmmakers in their efforts to express themselves through the medium of film – so this information is all the more precious.
The versatility of Croatian high school students and their interest in filmmaking is evidenced by the fact that thesubmissions came from the most diverse parts of Croatia, while the Festival received applications from over 50 countries, from the most diverse parts of the world and from almost all continents. The festival program includes films from the following countries: Macedonia, Argentina, Montenegro, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, the Netherlands, the United States of America, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. This certainly confirms that this year’s film program will be varied and interesting.
Sanja Zanki Pejić, coordinator of the festivals also commented on the large number of applications: “We thank the young authors for recognizing the Youth Film Festival and the Four River Film Festival as excellent platforms for the presentation of their works, and we congratulate everyone who made their films in these pandemic years, regardless of whether they entered the competition or not. Although online editions have their own charm and advantages, and we are pleased by the fact that last year’s edition gathered more than 208,000 people, we hope that coming September will finally bring the opportunity to host young filmmakers live again, and not only online.”
The evening programs even in the pandemic editions of the past two years were held live, and this year the organizers are ready for all combinations as far as the projections of the competition program are concerned.
“We are looking forward to the fact that Karlovac will once again become the world center of youth filmmaking during our 5-day festivals. We will organize the evening program in the open areas throughout the county, based on the River Cinema model, which the Cinema Club Karlovac is organizing again this summer. If the anti-epidemic measures allow it, we will once again have live daily competition screenings with the authors in the City Theater Zorin dom, the main festival location. Last year’s online edition logically resulted in certain good outcomes, such as greater engagement of authors online, and we will continue to maintain that segmentof communication and streaming of certain content. Congratulations to all authors whose films made it to the competition!” said Ksenija Sanković, leader of media programs at Cinema Club Karlovac.
Read more about the results of the selection as well as the complete list here:
https://frff.com.hr/official-selection-yff/
https://frff.com.hr/official-selection-frff/
In addition to the high school films in the main competition program, the festivals are also known for theiraccompanying programs that complement the work of high school students year after year: workshops, round tables and collaborations with renowned partners. If all of the above is not enough incentive for participation, or a visit to Karlovac during the ‘yellow fever’, the organizers have another trump card up their sleeve. Namely, this already established film event takes place in one of the most beautiful movie theaters in the world –on the banks of four Karlovac rivers, every evening on a different river, a different destination: Kupa, Korana, Mrežnica and Dobra. Special guests of this year’s edition will be Youth Cinema Network members, celebrating 10 years of its existence.
The Croatian Film Association and Cinema Club Karlovac are inviting everyone interested in film as well aseducational and fun accompanying programs to join their yellow fever celebration from September 6 to 10, 2022 in Karlovac!
