Fifth river
Koturaška street in Zagreb goes along the trails all the way from Savska in the west to Trnjanska in the east and it got its name after „kotura“ and „koturaši“ which is the archaic term for bicycles and cyclists. We can instantly imagine riders in their striped coats with bow ties spinning the pedals of their bikes while they are watched by ladies with gorgeous hats and lacy parasols while few meters above them noisy trains are carrying joyful passengers.
Bicycles are invented quite recently, in the past two hundred years and they vary a lot from the first design to today. They usually have two wheels and are powered by the strength of their riders, in the past by pushing against the ground, while they are still made of wood, and later through the chain that connects pedals and the wheel. Some say that there are over one billion bikes in the whole world. Several people from different time periods and different places are connected with the invention of bicycle but it has not been directly linked to one individual.
But, Karlovac knows the name of Bojan Biga, young man who went blind as a child but is now appearing, together with his father, as the constructor of tandem, bicycle ridden by two people, composed of two old bicycles. Alongside with screening of the documentary about creation of tandem, Bojan will personal appear and ride in front of Zorin Dom.
Bicycle is the trademark of this year 21st Youth Film Festival and 9th Four River Film Festival that will officially begin tonight in Karlovac. Festival will host domestic films and FRFF will show films by foreign high school authors, youth ages 14 to 20. This year amazing 594 films applied.
Opening ceremony will also show, as the Karlovac premiere, documentary „Dragon woman“ by Ivana Sansević about searching and discovering; about problems regarding anorexia and bulimia that many young people encounter while they grow up and search for themselves and the values that really define them. Magdalena, former volunteer of the Festival and FRFF appears in the film as well. Former, but as we all say, once you become a part of the team, you stay that forever!
Karlovac is a city on four rivers so each evening, alongside regular competitive festival screenings and numerous events, there will be film screenings on the coasts and beaches of those rivers, such as documentary by Tonći Gaćina – Tourism which will be shown on Mrežnica, best European youth film „Miss Impossible“ by French director Emilie Deluze on Dobra or „Huston, we have a problem“ by Slovenian director Žiga Virac on Korana.
This year's 21st Youth Film Festival and 9th Four River Film Festival is organized by Croatian Film Association and Kinoklub Karlovac, sponsored by Croatian Audiovisual Center, Croatian Technical Culture Association, City of Karlovac, Karlovac County and Karlovac Tourism Board while technical support is given by Karlovac Grammar School and Technical Culture Association Karlovac.
Specialty of this biking and film festivals that take place in their traditional, autumn time while yellow and red fallen leaves create the perfect background is the opening ceremony in the sign of three dimensional light projection to the water wall. Always bringing something new and yet unseen in Karlovac, Yellow Festival and FRFF appear as a sort of fifth river that will flow all around us in the next five days.
Duško Popović
popovicdusko@yahoo.com
06.09.2016.