| Big Golden Arena for Best Film | |
| Presenter: | Pula Film Festival Jury |
| Country: | Yugoslavia (1957–1990) Croatia (1992–present) |
| Year: | 1957 (unofficially) 1961 (officially) |
| Holder: | A Blue Flower |
| Website: | pulafilmfestival.hr |
See main article: Pula Film Festival. The Golden Arena awards were established in 1955 as the Yugoslav national film awards presented annually at the Pula Film Festival in Pula, Croatia, with the Big Golden Arena for Best Film its main prize. From 1955 to 1990 the awards were the Yugoslav cinema equivalent of the Academy Awards.
The award is named after the Pula Arena, the 1st-century Roman amphitheatre in the coastal city of Pula, where film screenings preceding the awards ceremony traditionally take place.
In 1991 the festival was cancelled due to the breakup of Yugoslavia, but then resumed in 1992 as the Croatian film awards festival, from then on excluding films and filmmakers from present-day Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and North Macedonia. It has been held in this format every year since, although no prizes were awarded at the 1994 edition.
The festival's competition program usually includes screenings of all locally produced feature films made in the preceding 12 months, made possible due to the local film industry's relatively low but highly state subsidized output. This means that everyone involved in making them automatically qualifies for the Golden Arena awards. Therefore there are no Academy Award-style lists of nominees announced prior to the actual awarding ceremony.
The awards are handed out by a jury of five or six members which is named before each festival edition by the festival's managing board. These usually include prominent filmmakers and film critics.
Although the festival was established in 1954, the award for best film was first awarded in 1957 - prior to the 1957 edition, the festival had separate critics' choice and audience awards for best film screened at the festival. Until 1990, the award was always given to the film's production company or companies, except in 1981 when the award was merged with the Golden Arena for Best Director and both the director and production companies of the winning film (The Fall of Italy by Lordan Zafranović) were credited with the award.
During the Yugoslav period, film production was decentralised with each of the six republics having their own major film production companies. Jadran Film based in Zagreb and Avala Film based in Belgrade were the two most successful, winning 11 and 8 awards respectively.
In the 1990s the award was intermittently merged with the Best Director award, until 1999 when the old format was briefly re-introduced. Between 2003 and 2007 film directors were credited with the Best Film award, while still being eligible for the separate Best Director award (although on four out of five occasions in this period the same director won both awards for the same film). Since 2008 the award is given to the film's producer.
The following table lists all films which were winners of the top three prizes in the period from 1957 to 1980. On four occasions two films shared the same prize - in 1961 and 1965 two films shared the Big Golden Arena, in 1966 two films shared the runner-up award and in 1967 two films shared the third-place award. In addition to this, the 1965 second place prize was not awarded. Shared awards are indicated with an asterisk (*).
| Year | Award | English title(s) | Original title(s) | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Moments of Decision | Trenutki odločitve | František Čap | |
| 1956 | Big Golden Arena was not awarded. | |||
| 1957 | Priests Ćira and Spira | Pop Ćira i pop Spira | Soja Jovanović | |
| Master of His Own Body | Svoga tela gospodar | Fedor Hanžeković | ||
| Saturday Night | Subotom uveče | Vladimir Pogačić | ||
| 1958 | H-8 | H-8 | Nikola Tanhofer | |
| The Road a Year Long | Cesta duga godinu dana | Giuseppe De Santis | ||
| The Sky Through the Trees | Kroz granje nebo | Stole Janković | ||
| 1959 | Train Without a Timetable | Vlak bez voznog reda | Veljko Bulajić | |
| Three Quarters of a Sun | Tri četrtine sonca | Jože Babič | ||
| Five Minutes of Paradise | Pet minuta raja | Igor Pretnar | ||
| 1960 | The Ninth Circle | Deveti krug | France Štiglic | |
| Atomic War Bride | Rat | Veljko Bulajić | ||
| Three Girls Named Anna | Tri Ane | Branko Bauer | ||
| 1961 | Ballad About a Trumpet and a Cloud * | Balada o trobenti in oblaku | France Štiglic | |
| The First Fires * | Uzavreli grad | Veljko Bulajić | ||
| The Party | Veselica | Jože Babič | ||
| Pesma | Radoš Novaković | |||
| 1962 | Kozara | Kozara | Veljko Bulajić | |
| Saša | Radenko Ostojić | |||
| Prekobrojna | Branko Bauer | |||
| 1963 | Face to Face | Licem u lice | Branko Bauer | |
| Radopolje | Stole Janković | |||
| Wild Growth | Samorastniki | Igor Pretnar | ||
| 1964 | Official Position | Službeni položaj | Fadil Hadžić | |
| Marš na Drinu | Žika Mitrović | |||
| Don't Cry, Peter | Ne joči, Peter | France Štiglic | ||
| 1965 | Prometheus of the Island * | Prometej s otoka Viševice | Vatroslav Mimica | |
| Three * | Tri | Aleksandar Petrović | ||
| Second place prize was not awarded. | ||||
| Doći i ostati | Branko Bauer | |||
| 1966 | Monday or Tuesday | Ponedjeljak ili utorak | Vatroslav Mimica | |
| The Climber | Štićenik | Vladan Slijepčević | ||
| Rondo * | Rondo | Zvonimir Berković | ||
| The Dream | San | Puriša Đorđević | ||
| 1967 | I Even Met Happy Gypsies | Skupljači perja | Aleksandar Petrović | |
| The Morning | Jutro | Puriša Đorđević | ||
| The Birch Tree * | Breza | Ante Babaja | ||
| On Paper Planes * | Na avionima od papira | Matjaž Klopčič | ||
| 1968 | When I Am Pale and Dead | Kad budem mrtav i beo | Živojin Pavlović | |
| Noon | Podne | Puriša Đorđević | ||
| I Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers | Imam dvije mame i dva tate | Krešimir Golik | ||
| 1969 | Downstream from the Sun | Nizvodno od sunca | Fedor Škubonja | |
| An Event | Događaj | Vatroslav Mimica | ||
| It Rains in My Village | Biće skoro propast sveta | Aleksandar Petrović | ||
| 1970 | Handcuffs | Lisice | Krsto Papić | |
| The Cyclists | Biciklisti | Puriša Đorđević | ||
| This Crazy World of Ours | Bube u glavi | Miloš Radivojević | ||
| 1971 | Red Wheat | Rdeče klasje / Crveno klasje | Živojin Pavlović | |
| The Pine Tree in the Mountain | U gori raste zelen bor | Antun Vrdoljak | ||
| The Bet | Opklada | Zdravko Randić | ||
| 1972 | The Master and Margaret | Maestro i Margarita | Aleksandar Petrović | |
| Lone Wolf | Vuk samotnjak | Obrad Gluščević | ||
| How to Die | Kako umrijeti | Miomir Stamenković | ||
| 1973 | The Battle of Sutjeska | Sutjeska | Stipe Delić | |
| The Bombardiers | Bombaši | Predrag Golubović | ||
| To Live on Love | Živjeti od ljubavi | Krešimir Golik | ||
| 1974 | The Republic of Užice | Užička republika | Žika Mitrović | |
| The Dervish and Death | Derviš i smrt | Zdravko Velimirović | ||
| Crveni udar | Predrag Golubović | |||
| 1975 | The House | Kuća | Bogdan Žižić | |
| Wintering in Jakobsfeld | Zimovanje u Jakobsfeldu | Branko Bauer | ||
| Story of Good People | Povest o dobrih ljudeh | France Štiglic | ||
| 1976 | Idealist | Idealist | Igor Pretnar | |
| The Longest Journey | Najdolgiot pat | Branko Gapo | ||
| Anno Domini 1573 | Seljačka buna 1573 | Vatroslav Mimica | ||
| 1977 | Don't Lean Out the Window | Ne naginji se van | Bogdan Žižić | |
| Operation Stadium | Akcija stadion | Dušan Vukotić | ||
| Beloved Love | Ljubavni život Budimira Trajkovića | Dejan Karaklajić | ||
| 1978 | Occupation in 26 Pictures | Okupacija u 26 slika | Lordan Zafranović | |
| Bravo Maestro | Bravo maestro | Rajko Grlić | ||
| The Dog Who Loved Trains | Pas koji je voleo vozove | Goran Paskaljević | ||
| 1979 | Trophy | Trofej | Karolj Viček | |
| Burning | Usijanje | Boro Drašković | ||
| The Days on Earth Are Flowing | Zemaljski dani teku | Goran Paskaljević | ||
| 1980 | Petria's Wreath | Petrijin venac | Srđan Karanović | |
| The Secret of Nikola Tesla | Tajna Nikole Tesle | Krsto Papić | ||
| Who's That Singing Over There | Ko to tamo peva | Slobodan Šijan | ||
In 1981 the second and third place prizes were dropped.[1] The following table lists all winners from 1981 to 1990. The Big Golden Arena was not awarded in 1982.[2]
| Year | International title | Original title | Director | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | scope=row | The Fall of Italy | Pad Italije | |
| 1982 | Main prize not awarded. | |||
| 1983 | scope=row | Body Scent | Zadah tela | |
| 1984 | scope=row | Balkan Spy | Balkanski špijun | & Dušan Kovačević |
| 1985 | scope=row | When Father Was Away on Business | Otac na službenom putu | |
| 1986 | scope=row | Happy New Year '49 | Srećna nova '49. | |
| 1987 | scope=row | Reflections | Već viđeno | |
| 1988 | scope=row | My Uncle's Legacy | Život sa stricem | |
| 1989 | scope=row | The Meeting Point | Sabirni centar | |
| 1990 | scope=row | Silent Gunpowder | Gluvi barut | |
| 1991 | Festival cancelled. | |||
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia which began in the early 1990s and the ensuing Croatian War of Independence, the festival was cancelled in 1991.[3] In 1992 it was re-launched as the Pula Film Festival (as opposed to the Festival of Yugoslav Film as it was known earlier).[4] Award categories and names were unchanged, but the selection was narrowed to Croatian films only, excluding films from the other five republics of Yugoslavia. This meant that the number of films eligible for awards fell sharply, which even led to the cancellation of the 1994 award ceremony, as only one Croatian feature film had been produced in the preceding 12 months.[5]
| Year | International title | Original title | Director | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | scope=row | Story from Croatia | Priča iz Hrvatske | |
| 1993 | scope=row | Countess Dora | Kontesa Dora | |
| 1994 | National awards program cancelled. | |||
| 1995 | scope=row | Washed Out | Isprani | |
| 1996 | scope=row | How the War Started on My Island | Kako je počeo rat na mom otoku | |
| 1997 | scope=row | Mondo Bobo | Mondo Bobo | |
| 1998 | scope=row | When the Dead Start Singing | Kad mrtvi zapjevaju | |
| 1999 | scope=row | Madonna | Bogorodica | |
| 2000 | scope=row | Marshal Tito's Spirit | Maršal | |
| 2001 | scope=row | Slow Surrender | Polagana predaja | |
| 2002 | scope=row | Fine Dead Girls | Fine mrtve djevojke | |
| 2003 | scope=row | Here | Tu | |
| 2004 | scope=row | Long Dark Night | Duga mračna noć | |
| 2005 | scope=row | What Iva Recorded | Što je Iva snimila 21. listopada 2003. | |
| 2006 | scope=row | All for Free | Sve džaba | |
| 2007 | scope=row | The Living and the Dead | Živi i mrtvi | |
| 2008 | scope=row | No One's Son | Ničiji sin | |
| 2009 | scope=row | Metastases | Metastaze | |
| 2010 | scope=row | Just Between Us | Neka ostane među nama | |
| 2011 | scope=row | Kotlovina | Kotlovina | |
| 2012 | scope=row | A Letter to My Father | Pismo ćaći | |
| 2013 | scope=row | A Stranger | Obrana i zaštita | |
| 2014 | scope=row | Number 55 | Broj 55 | |
| 2015 | scope=row | The High Sun | Zvizdan | |
| 2016 | scope=row | On the Other Side | S one strane | |
| 2017 | scope=row | A Brief Excursion | Kratki izlet | |
| 2018 | scope=row | Mali | Mali | |
| 2019 | scope=row | The Diary of Diana B | Dnevnik Diane Budisavljević | |
| 2020 | scope=row | Tereza37 | Tereza37 | |
| 2021 | scope=row | A Blue Flower | Plavi cvijet | |
| 2022 | scope=row | The Staffroom | Zbornica | |
| 2023 | scope=row | Bigger than Trauma | Veće od traume | |
A. Although the festival opened on schedule on 26 July 1991 and a press screening of Zrinko Ogresta's film was held, the festival board presided by Antun Vrdoljak decided to cancel the entire event in protest against the armed conflict in Slovenia and the escalating hostilities in Croatia. Nine Yugoslav-produced films were supposed to be screened in the national competition program.[3]
B. : In 1994 the national competition program and the awards ceremony were cancelled as only one Croatian feature film had been made over the preceding 12 months (The Price of Life, directed by Bogdan Žižić). The festival was held in spite of this, and the usual screenings were replaced by a retrospective of films produced by the celebrated Zagreb School of Animated Film and a selection of documentaries, while the main program featured premieres of six American cinema releases.[5]