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.