In September, Karlovac will once again become the international gathering place for young filmmakers. The submissions for participating in the 31st Youth Film Festival and the 19th Four River Film Festival are officially open! Young authors from Croatia and all over the world are invited to submit their films and become part of two of the most important high school film Festivals in Europe.
The Festivals will take place from 15th to 19th September 2026, and screenings and Festival events will once again fill the Edison cinema and unique locations along the banks of Karlovac’s four rivers.
The Croatian Film Association and Cinema Club Karlovac invite filmmakers aged 14 to 20 to submit their films, completed after January 1st, 2024. Submissions are open until June 1st, 2026 via the FilmFreeway platform: https://filmfreeway.com/FourRiverFilmFestival
Films can be submitted in four competition categories: fiction film, animated film, documentary film and freestyle film.
The increase of interest in the Youth Film Festival and Four River Film Festival is confirmed by the results of their last year’s anniversary editions. We received as many as 1,622 film submissions from 94 countries, and the selection committee selected 64 short films that were screened in front of the Festival audience. These numbers once again confirm the strong international character of the Festivals and their important role in encouraging young filmmakers.
In addition to the competition program, participants and visitors can also expect a rich additional program: workshops, masterclasses, panels, round table discussions, feature film screenings, musical performances and gatherings, designed to encourage knowledge exchanges, creativity and international collaborations.
The Festivals provide young authors with a space to be seen and heard, and to connect with audiences, mentors and future collaborators. The success in achieving these goals is also visible through our educational program, in which we introduce you to professional filmmakers who took their first steps in filmmaking right here in Karlovac!
More information about the submissions and the program is available on the official Festival website: https://frff.com.hr
The Festivals are sponsored by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Croatian Association of Technical Culture, the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, Karlovac County, City of Karlovac, the “Kultura Nova” Foundation, The National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, the Tourist Board of the City of Karlovac, the Technical Culture Community of the Karlovac County and City and Turbing d.o.o.
