As an introduction to the competition program screenings, we present to you our partner organizations, festivals and workshops from Croatia and all around the world.
The annual Youth Cinema Network (YCN) Award recognises excellence in film made by young people. Established in 2016 as a single award, it is now presented to the best films in three age groups:
* age 0 – 14
* age 15 – 19
* age 20 – 27
YCN festivals nominate one film for each group, YCN members cast one vote per age group (a festival may not vote for its own nomination) and the films with greatest number of votes in each age category are declared winners.
Every year the YCN awards are presented at a different festival. Starting with Wicked Wales Film festival, UK in 2016, the awards have been announced at REC, Germany (2017), Nextfilmfestival, Denmark (2018), Enimation, Slovenia and Up and Coming, Germany (2019) and Camera Zizanio, Greece (2020)!
2020 winners in each of the categories:
Filmmaker: Max Shoham
Genre: Animation/documentary
Country of origin: Canada
Synopsis: When I was 9 months old, a team of doctors cut into my skull, removed my forehead, put my eye-sockets on a table, reshaping my face completely. This caused a year of tension and terror in my family, and gave me scars still visible today, yet I can’t remember a single thing about the whole ordeal. It was therefore irresistible to make a film investigating this personally life-changing event that seemed to only change the lives of my family.
Filmmaker: Cal Arnold O’Driscoll
Country of origin: Ireland
Synopsis: In 1980s Ireland Pirate radio was huge. It’s cheap, easy and will make you famous! That’s why these three friends set one up in an attempt to beat the bullies and get the girls.
Filmmaker: Omer Ben-Shachar: Director, Co-Writer
Genre: Narrative (Drama, Comedy)
Country of origin: USA
Synopsis/Logline: After he’s been cast (again!) as a background tree in his annual school play, an ambitious and imaginative immigrant boy leads a revolution on stage that his intolerant drama teacher will never forget.
Launched in September 2020, European Film Factory is a free and secured platform for film education available in 8 languages for students (11-18 years old) and teachers across Europe. The project aims to explore and gain a better understanding of films that have marked the history of European cinema by providing a catalogue of short and feature films associated with educational materials and interactive tools. European Film Factory is supported by the MEDIA strand of Creative Europe and is led by the Institut français in partnership with ARTE Education & European Schoolnet.
The Croatian Youth Network is an association of 72 organizations by and for the youth in the Republic of Croatia. As a heterogeneous platform, it programmatically connects diverse organizations (advocacy, cultural, environmental, minority, etc.) that have a common interest in developing youth policies, both at the national and regional/local levels. The CYN is an association that empowers young people to actively and responsibly participate in society, and contributes to the development of quality policies for the youth and the civil society. In its work, it represents its members and strives to act in the interest of all young people through networking, advocacy, gathering information, informal education and research, by advocating for cooperation with public authorities, educational and scientific institutions, members of the civil society and the media.
HERIFF is a festival devoted to showcasing and promoting the world’s next generation of talented and promising young female filmmakers. It is Ireland’s only Young Women In Film Film Festival for young female filmmakers aged 10 to 25 hosted by Killarney Young Filmmakers. It is usually held in October annually in Killarney, County Kerry. This year’s edition will be held from 25th until 31st October. Festival is celebrating and promoting young women in the film industry.
HERIFF is an entirely youth-led film festival. Based in Kerry, Ireland, our creative and decision-making team is made up of young people aged 24 and below. We are all volunteers and HERIFF is a nonprofit organisation to support young female and female-aligned filmmakers.
The Women’s Group Karlovac “Korak“ is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization founded in August 1998. The aim of the organization is to protect human, but especially women’s and children’s rights, to protect families and offer protection against violence. The mission of the organization is to raise the level of society’s sensitivity to and responsibility for human, women’s and children’s rights, to promote and lobby for their practical implementation and realization in everyday life and to prevent and immediately protect women and children that are victims of domestic violence.
This year, The Women’s Group Karlovac “Korak“ presents “The Network of Support and Cooperation for Victims and Witnesses of Criminal Offences”, financed by the Republic of Croatia’s Ministry of Justice and Administration. The Women’s Room – Centre for Sexual Rights is the main implementer of the program, which is carried out in partnership with 10 more civil society organisations in the area of 13 Croatian counties that lack Departments of Victim and Witness Support.
Through this programme, The Women’s Group Karlovac “Korak“ is providing assistance and support for victims and witnesses of criminal offences in the Karlovac and the Lika – Senj Counties through the following services:
• emotional and practical support, technical and practical information, and information on your rights
• psychological and legal counseling
• escort to court
• escort to the police, State Attorney’s Office and/or to a Social Welfare Centre
• support if you have not reported a criminal offence
• support after the end of the court process
Informing the public about programs like this is immensely important, because we know that crime is unfortunately a daily occurrence, but as a society we can do much more to protect the victims of it. More information about the program can be found on this webpage: https://mrezapodrskeisuradnje.com/
