The Yellow Flag – the award for the contribution to nonviolence on film/
The round table “Film and Youth against Violence”

Film art, like very few other areas of human creation, has the ability to reveal the obstacles to life among which violence in all its forms is the most harmful one. Thus when young filmmakers in their works promote nonviolence in society this deserves our complete attention and support. By making films which draw attention to this great social problem, young people contribute to its solution in a very convincing and important way. Their films loudly speak out about violence present among teenagers, violence of man towards nature, about war and conflict as the worst form of human interaction, as well as about self-destruction through addition to drugs and alcohol.

All of these subjects are also covered in films at this year’s 15th Youth Film Festival and the 3rd Four River Film Festival. Having this in mind, and given the growing importance of YFF and FRFF, this edition will strive to place high school filmmaking in a wider social context by introducing some important innovations. Therefore, we have introduced the new, eleventh award at YFF and FRFF, the Yellow Flag, awarded in recognition to the contribution of nonviolence on film. The decision will be left to three high school students who all excel in various areas of activity. By initiating this award we would like to draw attention to the perception of violence within the framework of artistic creation of high school students. Therefore, in addition to the award itself, for the group leaders – mentors and for all the interested high school students, we are also organizing the round table entitled “Film and Youth against Violence” with the participation of numerous experts who directly or indirectly deal with this problem-matter. The round table will be moderated by one of this year’s selection jury members and long-time high school film critic Boško Picula.

Jury of the "Yellow Flag" Award

Dorotea Martinec

Dorotea was born in Zagreb in 1994. She is the second year student of the 14th Language Gymnasium where she attends a bilingual program in Croatian and French.

In addition to French in which she is fluent, she also speaks English and German, while in the last four year she has been actively involved in Esperanto activities and has twice won first place at the state Esperanto competitions.

For many years Dorotea has also been interested in computer science, and has won first places at the national informatics contest in web design five consecutive times.

For the last five years she trains sports shooting and has achieved fine results with her air pistol.

Dorotea is also active in the field of acting and drama (participates in the work of the drama group „Zagrebački šareni leptiri“ which performs its plays in many languages), as well as being actively involved in volunteer work. For many years she has participated in the work of “Krila“, the association for therapeutic riding, the Roma association “Romane Droma“ and the association for the promotion of civil society “Civitas Zagreb“.

Ivana Paljug

Ivana Paljug was born in 1993 in Karlovac where she has just finished the second grade of Karlovac Gymnasium.

She has volunteered in activities with children with special needs at the Karlovac Center for Education and Development of Children and Youth, and her great work and effort have contributed to the fact that Karlovac Gymnasium received a recognition from the National Foundation for Civil Society Development for the most innovative model to motivate and engage students in volunteer work – the award „School Friend of the Community“.

She has successfully completed the educational program called „Anti Bullying Campaign“ for the students’ support groups in school, organized by CNS, the Center for Neohumanistic Studies.

She considers her most important free-time activity the ten year long commitment to the drama group at the City theater „Zorin dom“ in Karlovac where she has participated in a great number of plays.

For two consecutive years she has also participated at the National Lidrano Festival, once as a solo performer and the second time with a stage piece she made in collaboration with her friend Lorena Kovačević.

Ivana Paljug has participated several times at the winter art colony “Mali ZILIK”, as well as being an active participant of the „Novigradsko proljeće“ art school.

Buga Marija Šimić

Buga Marija was born in 1993 in Zagreb.

She first appeared on the theater stage when she was 6 years old with a role in the opera “Madame Butterfly”, directed by Dora Ruždjak, at the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb where she also played a part in the play “Tonight We Improvise” by director Zlatko Sviben. At the Žar ptica City Theater she played the role of the Little Red Riding Hood in “Little Red Riding Hood in the City” directed by Goran Golovko, while at the theater Mala scena she appeared in a role in the play “The Invisible Leonard”. For this performance she received the award for the best newcomer at the 6th Naj Naj Festival held at the Žar Ptica.

In front of the camera she is known for her role of Klara in the film “Below the Line” (“Ispod crte”) directed by Petar Krelja and she has just recently participated on a film by Rajko Grlić “Just between Us”(“Neka ostane među nama”). She has dubbed the role of Lava Girl in the film “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl”, and lent her voice to characters in “Charlotte’s Web” – “The Unusual Tooth Fairy”, “Meet the Robinsons” and “Astro Boy”. She has also appeared in Branko Ištvančić’s feature film “The Ghost in the Swamp” in which she plays the role of Aranka.

While in primary school, Buga Marija participated four times at the school Lidrano Festival, on the national level, three times in the drama program and once in the literary program.

She is currently attending the third grade of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium in Zagreb and her hobbies include hip-hop and tap dancing at the TALA dance center while she also studies English, Japanese and Spanish.