No rest even after the end of the school year: Today, kids in Karlovac just learned and learned and learned some more!

Everyone knows that the yellow fever in Karlovac began and that last night we closed the third day of the festival. We do not need to tell you that by now things are pretty heated up and that young film lovers already feel at home in Karlovac. We can say that Zorin dom is their home during all five days of the 19th Youth Film Festival and 7th Four River Film Festival, so it is not surprising that they spent yesterday morning there. From 9:30 in the morning, our high school students closely watched the staff, actors, animations, scripts, costumes and all the things they love most in the films which are in the competition program, and after a short break they started learning new things.

As we promised in the announcement of the festival, the yellow event this year served as a platform for audio recording workshop. Viktor Volarić Horvat made sure it took place. He is a young musician and audio engineer who gives his neighbours a headache because he always tries out new instruments. He showed the participants the principles of recording and processing of sound in film. The workshop covered all stages of film audio production and demonstrated them in practice, and after the second part of the workshop that continues today, participants will be able to brag to everyone that they participated in the preparation of the recording, the recording itself and post-production of the recorded material. Also, Ivan Mandić’s workshop started yesterday and ends today. He showed high school kids a very unusual film entertainment - animation of the box. Swede Tommy Boije held a workshop for animated documentaries to the rest of the kids. According to filmmakers’ impressions, this workshop was really something special. It was held in a classroom in Karlovac Grammar School, which was decorated with lights that flicker from floor-to-ceiling, various screens and nets, and leaders had masks on their faces... so that they could illustrate young artists the theme of utopia.

In addition to these three main workshops which continue tomorrow, young people were today introduced to another aspect of film which is quite unusual. It is dance film, a topic around which filmmakers worked with professional dancer Vera Vrbanac. With our guests, she discussed a series of dance films made this year to the soundtrack of the music hit "Happy" and tried to come up with an answer whether these popular dance videos actually are dance films. Vera Vrbanac, known in Karlovac and as founder of the dance school "Studio 23" will not rest even today, and you can read all about it in tomorrow's report. Mentors and high school leaders were introduced to the issue of dance film being neglected among film genres. Majda Rijavec, a psychologist and member of the jury, gave a lecture on the Positive effects of film on psychological development of children and youth and mentors were very impressed.

Festival friend, adviser, assistant, former judge and foremost, leader of media culture classes Jura Troje will take you on a "Journey on film." The workshop intended for high school students and mentors opened the eternal enigma – should we travel to make films or make films to travel? During a lengthy discussion, they came to different conclusions, and then enjoyed the travelogue film "Indochina" and thereby learned how a camera in your hand and a script in your mind can change the whole concept of being a traveller.

But for us it was still not enough. With all the organization of the festival team, something had to happen spontaneously and unexpectedly, otherwise our entertaining yellow festival would not be what it is. Innovative ideas at the festival never end and ingenious Igor from the Educational Media Center proved it. A day before he got the idea, and now to the delight of all he enriched the program with one more workshop which prompted the current state of mind of young people, particularly in these parts of the globe . Specifically, brain drain as a result of the lack of possibilities in the home country is often mentioned in the media so it is not surprising that it was the theme of the film which has emerged as a product of this workshop.

This more than exhaustive educational program designed for high school students and their mentors showed the strength of spreading knowledge, and after all we had to reward young film-makers and let them enjoy a little.  From 6 pm festival guests and others festival members enjoyed at the banks of river Dobra, on one of the most famous beaches in Karlovac - Grdun. At 9.30 pm the program, "Once laureates of the festival, and today?" started and we all started doing video contest tasks. Although we were assured that there will be someone brave who will jump into our coldest river, it did not happen.

After several hours of playing, in a pleasant atmosphere, next to a beautiful river, getting to know Luka Hrgović could begin. Today, a visual artist, at the Youth Film Festival in Zadar in 2004 he won the first prize in the category of feature films for the film “Epopeja o bureku”, a consistent parody of some classic moments and motifs from the history of film. All the guests of tonight's program "Once laureates of the festival, and today?" could see that it is really so because they never stopped laughing. Then he presented his latest movie "Zetstapo" which has only one mission - to denigrate Zagreb public transport.

“Several times while I was on a tram or bus, I didn’t have a ticket and that’s exactly when the control got on. I remember that unpleasant feeling so I said why not make a film about how people feel when the ticket control catches them. Of course, an additional incentive for filming was everything that's been happening with ZET and their prices lately", Luka explained where he got the idea for the film and added one detail that didn’t leave the audience indifferent. He wanted to encourage young film-makers and advised them to do what they want because the technology today allows it. He also admitted that “Zetstapo” was completely filmed in his apartment using green screen although it seems it takes place in a public bus.

After amiable Luka all eyes were focused on the documentary "Disconnected" by Melody Gilbert. A kind of research project talks about life without computers following the lives of three students who eventually begin to understand and deal with things that do not involve computers - those that have been neglected for a long time. The film is of quite unusual subject matter and apparently the audience really liked it, although they could not wait for a moment of entertainment and late at night they began dancing madly to the rhythms of the DJ.

What an organized day! A lot of work, learning, assessment, viewing, listening, and in the end deserved partying! And today will offer the same. Come to the 19th Youth Film Festival and 7th Four River Film Festival in Karlovac and see what Oscar for teenagers and the yellow carpet actually look like!

20.06.2014.