When you are a filmmaker, amateur or beginner, it is sometimes very hard to find information on how to disseminate its films. Each year, new opportunities appear. Here is a selection of festivals of short films and a competition of scenarios occurring in 2018 and that the call for candidates, for the most part, is not yet completed. This is the time to start. Has your feathers !
The festivals and the competition of short films
Movie haiku
A festival dedicated to the very (very) short (under 30 seconds) inspired by a japanese tradition ! The selection has already started and takes place over several months before the festival itself. This is the time to put you to work. After a first edition last year, the festival is back with prices every 15 days, and a$ 5,000 grand prize awarded at the festival.
Dates of application : October 02, – may 17, 2018
Dates of festival : may 28-June 15, 2018
Official website
International short film Festival of Clermont
It is too late to submit a film, but it is the international reference of the short film. If you can make it on site, you will learn a lot, either by seeing hundreds of films or developing your network by meeting producers and other directors. When my only connection to this festival in 2014, I really found the atmosphere very interesting, and if I had been able to enjoy professionally, I think it is quite possible to get noticed during this festival, with or without a film in competition.
Dates of the festival : 02 to 10 February 2018
Official website
Festival Short Side
A number of competitions and selections, share the poster, which offers a variety of films very interesting. In addition to the prizes awarded during the festival, each film selected in Competition or Panorama be granted a premium of 54€ HT
Dates for application : until 28 February
Dates of the festival : 06 to 16 June 2018
Official website
Festival Ptit Clap
Festival is reserved for filmmakers who are between the ages of 15 and 25 and to the movies short film of under 15 minutes. If animated films are excluded, no particular theme is imposed on the films.
Dates for application : Until 31 march 2018
Dates of the festival : June 9, 2018
Official website
Festival of Short Film in the open air of Grenoble
No info yet on the new edition of this festival very appreciated by the public grenoblois, but this should change quickly.
Dates for application : not communicated
Dates of the festival : in July 2018
Learn more
Comet Film Festival
A new short film festival for filmmakers in the grass, under 30 years of age, wishing to present their film at screenings in Paris.
Thirty short films from 2 minutes to 20 minutes. 7 different prizes will be awarded to the best films selected by a professional jury : prize of the photography, award of achievement, award for the best screenplay, best actor prize, audience prize, prize of the
jury and finally the coup de cœur award at Comet.
The Comet Film Festival is the initiative of the associatio Comet, founded by engineering students at Telecom ParisTech.
Applications : From January 08 to may 08, 2018
Dates of the festival : 08 and June 09, 2018
Official website
Off-courts Trouville
Still no official dates, but this other festival in the international deemed to be held every year in September. French films and international, professional and amateur, are selected, disseminated, and awarded each year. I had the chance to have my film Paris in Love, shot in 2012, selected for the edition of the same year in competition of the international festival.
Official website
Even more festivals in 2018
The above list is not exhaustive and will not necessarily be updated throughout the year. To go further, I can recommend you to visit these two addresses :
Festivals and Competitions
Film Fest Platform
The contest scenarios
Here are a few competition scenarios. Often, some of the themes are imposed, but this is not always the case. To carry out your task, check out our methodology to write a short film.
International Festival of screenwriters in Valencia
As for Clermont, it is no longer possible to send your application, but you can still apply for accreditation to attend the event and meet many professionals.
Dates of the Festival : from 04 to 07 April 2018
Official website
The moulin d’andé
As every year, the Moulin d’andé launches its competition scenario of the short film. The award winners will receive an internship rewriting, and then a second jury will select a first prize with € 5,000 to the author and 25000 € for the production of the short film, and a second prize amount of € 2,000 is allocated to the author.
Application : Up to February 26, 2018
Official website