Thanks to the Pula PROfessional programme, during the round table held in the premises of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the topic of cooperation between Academies, Universities and Students and the Pula Film Festival was opened.
Prior to the start of talks on ways of cooperation the representatives of the three Academies – the Academy of dramatic arts in Zagreb, at the Academy of applied arts in Rijeka and the Art Academy in Osijek – agreed that cooperation between Academies in Croatia does not exist, and that the Pula Film Festival is an ideal opportunity for the Academies, the Students and the profession to start linking and create audiovisual art together.
"We would like to use Pula, so to speak, as a remarkable festival, for students, to get acquainted with our collective, present their work and, in comparison, see immediately whether they are good enough or bad” said the Dean of the Academy of dramatic arts in Zagreb Borna Baletić in an opening speech.
As a representative of the Academy of applied arts in Rijeka, Professor Lara Badurina agreed that cooperation does not exist, and this fact is caused by the non compatible academic programmes of existing Academies.
"We have a good network within the city of Rijeka, collaborating with the theaters and the archive, however the academic programmes are not coordinated with other academies and that's the problem with cooperation."
One of the goals of Pula PROfessional programme, therefore the Pula Film Festival, is to be the staircase for the student to the professional film world. In addition to Pula PROfessional with this year's focus on scenography as one of the most important and indispensable film components, this year's 62nd Pula Film Festival introduced the Student Programme which screens 19 films authored by students of Academies from Croatia and the region.
"We want Pula to become your platform because you can ensure the logistics for it. Now we want you to tell us what the problems are and how we can solve them together, "said the producer of the 62nd Pula Film Festival Nataša Šimunov.
During the discussion and exchange of ideas at the round table, representatives of the Festival, the Academies and also the students themselves came to some important conclusions.
One of them certainly is that Pula PROfessional programme and the Festival itself, provide students, in the best possible way, with the transition from student to the professional world, help them to achieve new professional cooperation, meet and learn from world-renowned film experts and, perhaps most importantly, help their films find an audience!
"The city offers something more. Something that does not have to last for only seven days, but perhaps throughout the year. I believe that the goal does not have to be a product or film, but the goal should be the process. We need to extra step." considers Lara Badurina, professor at the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka.
Participants of the round table and their students can think about the year-round work and cooperation among academies on a project, in cooperation and coordination with the management and the board of the 62nd Pula Film Festival, which will be presented or completed during the Pula Film Festival and how to involve and get students to participate in a programme like this over the next semester.
"There are a lot of opportunities ahead of us, but we need your advice. We don't have to make decisions that will last forever, but we don’t want to make decisions that will only last two to three years. We need solid and executable plans that we can and must achieve together." concluded Gordana Restović, Director of the 62nd Pula Film Festival.
