A film festival dedicated to high school film and film made by youth (age group: 14 – 20 held, for the 19th year in a row, in Croatia in the city of four rivers named Karlovac. In addition to numerous great films made by youth (both in the official competition and in the side program), the festival also offers diverse workshops, roundtables, development platforms for youth filmmakers and certainly the best “theatre hall” in the world – namely, each festival night screening takes place at the different open air location at the river shore – there are four festival’s nights and four rivers, so each night is a completely different experience.

Awards & Prizes

• Grand Prix
• Audience Award
• Yellow Flag Award (for promoting non-violence)
• Best Animated Film
• Best Documentary Film
• Best Fiction Film
• Best Actor
• Best Actress
• Best Directing
• Best Screenplay
• Best Cinematography
• Best Editing
• Special Mentions

Rules & Terms

Terms of participation

1. The 19th Four River Film Festival is organized by the Croatian Film Association and Cinema Club Karlovac.

2. The festival will be held in Karlovac, Croatia from 15th – 19th of September 2026. All film clubs, groups of authors, students, pupils and individuals ages 14 to 20 are welcome to participate.

3. Each club, group, student, pupil or individual can send unlimited number of films to the Festival within the following categories: fiction film, documentaries, animated films and free style films.

4. The submission is done online via FilmFreeway. Deadline for applications is June 1st, 2026.

5. In order to qualify for selection, submitted films have to be completed after January 1, 2024 and should not have been submitted previously to our festival. There is no limit in duration of submitted films.

6. Films that are fully or partially generated using artificial intelligence tools (including script, image, video, voice or editing) are not eligible for submission to the festival.

7. Selection of the films will be done by the selection committee: Ana Đordić, PhD, Dinka Radonić and Boško Picula, PhD. After seeing all qualified works, they will decide which films will be shown in the competition program of the festival.

8. Croatian Film Association and Cinema Club Karlovac uphold the following rights with the cause of popularisation of film creation:
- right to store works at the film archives for protection and preservation
- right to transfer films to suitable video and electronic media for showing at film screenings when presenting Four River Film Festival
- right to publish the winning films in the following year as part of the Croatian Film Association's Film EDUcation program for elementary and high schools (website: https://filmskanastava.hfs.hr/en/home)
23 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Mirko Milak

    Our experience at the Four River Film Festival in Karlovac this year was truly unforgettable. From the moment we arrived, we felt warmly welcomed—the accommodation was very comfortable, and the hospitality from the festival team was exceptional. Most of the film screenings were held at the beautifully renewed Edison Cinema, which provided a modern and welcoming environment for all attendees. As Bek Vokali, we proudly presented our documentary film, “Denijevi prsti,” on the big screen alongside talented young filmmakers from all over the world. Sharing our story in such a warm and supportive atmosphere was incredibly moving.
    A standout moment was the exclusive inclusive screening held at the historic castle in Novigrad na Dobri. This special projection was equipped with Croatian sign language interpretation, inclusive subtitles, and audio description, making it accessible to deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and visually impaired viewers, as well as to everyone else in the audience. Experiencing this truly inclusive event reinforced the festival’s commitment to accessibility and diversity, which deeply resonated with us as filmmakers from a center for the visually impaired.
    We are grateful to have been part of this inspiring environment that celebrates diverse voices and makes space for everyone to enjoy film. Thank you, Karlovac, and the entire festival team, for such a supportive and memorable experience!

    September 2025
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  • Polina Dincheva

    The best festival I’ve ever been to! Thank you so much for the amazing opportunity and I advise everyone to apply and experience the magic themselves! ⭐

    September 2025
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  • Breathing Films

    This was an incredible festival!
    Really amazing screening room, location and people!!! Highly recommend visiting/applying, especially for young filmmakers and creatives ✨

    September 2025
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  • Chase Olivera

    Great festival! I wasn't able to attend in person but they live streamed the event and my film won Best Animation and I got an award and gift bag in the mail along with social media posts. They had great communication and I'd love to visit if I'm able to travel next time!

    January 2025
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  • Yaro Hussein

    it was an honor to us to be selected in this wonderful festival and the staff of the festival were very helpful and amazing many thanks to the team behind making this festival.

    September 2024
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