A summer roundup of French short films exhibited internationally during July and August at international festivals supported by Unifrance.
Tribute
The Curta Kinoforum festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has always had close ties with French cinema, thanks in particular to the work of its charismatic and Francophile director, Zita Carvalhosa. Her presence at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival each year, alongside her programming team of Beth Sa Freire and Anne Fryszman, will leave many fond memories for all those who met her. We were deeply saddened to learn of her passing and send our condolences to her team.
🏆 Awards for French short films 🏆
➡️The jury of In the Palace International Short Film Festival in Bulgaria attributed three awards to French works:
- The River by Élise Levy received a Special Mention in the Best Student Fiction Film category
- Balconada by Iva Tokmakchieva received a Special Mention in the Best Animation Film category
- Ice Breath by Coraline Zorea received Best Experimental Film.
➡️ The Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in Switzerland gave the Audience Award to:
➡️ Awards for French films at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in South Korea:
- More Tears Than Harm by Herinarivo Rakotomanana received the TimeTree Best Technical Achievement;
- Sisowath Quay by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy received a Special Mention in the International Competition.
➡️ Sisowath Quay by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy won the Best Animation Award at the Odense International Film Festival (OFF) in Denmark.
➡️ At the Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Best Short Film Award went to Winter in March by Natalia Mirzoyan, and God Will Not Help by Hana Jusic received the Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality .
➡️ In the USA, the jury of the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIFF) awarded the Grand Prize for Best Screenplay to Denis Spiridonov for Dernier Jour à Sofia, and the award for best children's film to Low Tide, by David Noblet.
➡️ At the Curta Kinoforum awards ceremony in Saõ Paulo, Brazil, three French films received prizes:
- The ABCA Award for Best Animation went to Playing God by Matteo Burani
- The API Award was attributed The Orchards by Antoine Chapon
- The AudioVibes Award went to Kabuki by Tiago Minamisawa
It should be noted that five French films appear in Kinoforum's ranking of the audience's 10 favorite films:
- Ascension et chute de Zara Zilverstein by Brian Kazez
- Autokar by Sylwia Szkiłądź
- Kotowari 断り by Coralie Watanabe Prosper
- Laissez-moi danser by Lou Cheruy Zidi
- Playing God by Matteo Burani (yet another accolade!)
✈️ The following people received travel funding ✈️
- Sarah Lasry to present her film Hotel Acropole at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal
- Emmanuel Levy to present his film as producer Weird to Be Human at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal
- Nathalie Dennes to support her production Praia de Pedra at Vila do Conde
- Nathan Coen to present his film Un départ at In the Palace Short Film Festival
- Thibault Fauconnet to present his film Ultrapolice at In the Palace Short Film Festival
- Raphaël Treiner to present his film Flush at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, accompanied by his producer Lucie Moreau
- Elsa Michaud to present his film Métamorphosia at the Odense International Film Festival
🔹 All the selections, all the awards 🔹
🇧🇬 The Bulgarian In the Palace Short Film Festival selected 20 French productions or co-productions, across all sections.
Official Selection - Best Short Fiction
- A Short Trip by Erenik Beqiri
- Changing Rooms by Violette Gitton
- The Hunters by David Pinheiro Vicente
- Marion by Joe Wieland and Finn Constantine
- Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone? by Faouzi Bensaïdi
- Stepmother by Negar Naghavi
- Ultrapolice by Thibault Fauconnet
Official Selection - Best Short Animation
- Balconada by Iva Tokmakchieva
- Amen by Orphée Coutier, Bettina Demarty, Kimié Maingonnat, Laurène Perego, and Avril Zundel
- Earth Coal by Bastien Dupriez
- Father's Letters by Alexey Evstigneev
- The Boy Who Cheated Death by Pipou Phuong Nguyen
Official Selection - Best Short Student Fiction
- Le Cantique des Moutons by Anaïs Ledoux, Jeanne Bigo, Alex Le Ruyet, Evan Lambert, Juliette Bigo, Anaïs Castro De Angel, and Jules Marcel
- The River by Élise Levy
- Red Soil by Farid Bentoumi
- Sublime by Marie Heribel, Candice Yernau, Juliette Buysschaert, Camille Leroy, Joséphine Vandeville, Martin Laurent, and Lucas Foutrier
Official Selection - Best Short Documentary
Official Selection - Best Experimental
Élise Levy's The River received a Special Mention in the Best Student Fiction Film category, while the French co-production Balconada received a Special Mention in the Best Animation Film category. Coraline Zorea's Ice Breath won Best Experimental Film.
🇵🇹 18 French shorts were also selected at the Portuguese festival Curtas Vila do Conde.
International Competition
- +10K by Gala Hernández López
- A Son & a Father by Andrés Ramírez Pulido
- As if the Earth Had Swallowed Them Up by Natalia León
- Dog Alone by Marta Reis Andrade
- God is Shy by Jocelyn Charles
- No Skate! by Guil Sela
- Samba Infinito by Leonardo Martinelli
- Sulaimani by Vinnie Ann Bose
- To the Woods by Agnès Patron
- What Mary Didn't Know by Konstantina Kotzamani
- Under the Mountains' Shadow by Diogo Salgado
My Generation Competition
Curtinhas Competition
- Amen by Orphée Coutier, Bettina Demarty, Kimié Maingonnat, Laurène Perego, and Avril Zundel
- Forever by Théo Djekou, Pierre Ferrari, Cyrine Jouini, Pauline Philippart, and Anissa Terrier
- Keo and the Stardust by Victor Halfen
- The Empty Panel by Thibault Chollet
- Reven de Hugo Barbey, Victor Barreaud, Line Bossard, Chloé Hurard, Coralie Monnier, Mathilde Morin, Lèna Ripoche, and Tanguy Salaün
- The Drifting Guitar by Sophie Roze
🇿🇦 In South Africa, three films were selected at the Durban International Film Festival.
- Frater by Valentin Guiod
- Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites by Chheangkea
- Genealogy of Violence by Mohamed Bourouissa
🇨🇭The Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) presented four French films in International Competition.
International Competition
- Ordinary Life by Yoriko Mizushiri
- Dammen by Grégoire Graesslin
- Mötus by Aya Nour
- Playing God by Matteo Burani
Matteo Burani's Playing God received the Audience Award for Best Short Film
🇨🇦 The Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Canada, presented 16 French productions or co-productions in its Official Selection.
Official Selection
- Catfish by Aurélie Galibois, Cristina Ganusciac, Aurélie Martin, Hee Young Park, and Vedushi Sinha
- Dark Globe by Donato Sansone
- Do You Want to See Me Do the Striptease Too? by Xu Jingxuan
- Familiar by Marco Novoa
- Hotel Acropole by Sarah Lasry
- Once Upon a Time in Dragonville by Marika Herz
- Keo and the Stardust by Victor Halfen
- The Genie in the Bottle by Thomas Leclercq
- Le Petit et le Géant by Isabela Costa
- The Night Tunnel by Annechien Strouven
- Death of an Actor by Ambroise Rateau
- Ordinary Life by Yoriko Mizushiri
- The Story of Three Sisters (or How the World Came to Have Four Seasons Instead of One) by Raphaëlle Bourgon, Anchi Huang, Vega Lázaro, Son Tra Le, Priyam Parikh, Jianuo Wen, and Di Wu
- The perfect fit by Pauline Petit, Leyah Stiffler, Sasha Woolley, and Ipsita Manna Manna
- Weird to Be Human by Jan Grabowski
- Échantillonnage by Jérémy Arné
🗣️ Sarah Lasry, who traveled to the festival, with support from Unifrance, to present her film Hotel Acropole, tells us about the experience:
"The Fantasia Festival, created in 1996, is recognized as one of the most important genre film festivals in the world. It hosted the world premiere of my third short film. So it was very important for me to be there, to present the film to the audience in person, and to meet peers from around the world who are interested in the same themes and subjects of cinematic research as I am. As I am currently in the early stages of seeking funding for my debut feature film, attending this festival was also the perfect opportunity to meet professionals, connect with programmers, and give interviews to journalists about my work. It also allowed the film to continue to exist on the festival circuit. I was very happy to be able to attend the first public screening, hear the audience's reactions, and also forge links with potential future collaborators living abroad, whom I would never have been able to meet in any other context."
🇰🇷 In South Korea, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) presented five films, across all sections.
- Sisowath Quay by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy
- More Tears Than Harm by Herinarivo Rakotomanana
- Acrobats by Éloïse Alluyn, Hugo Danet, Anna Despinoy, Antonin Guerci, Alexandre Marzin, and Shali Reddy
- Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites by Chheangkea
- Flush by Raphaël Treiner
Sisowath Quay by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy took home a Special Mention in the Best Short Film category!
More Tears Than Harm by Herinavo Rakotomanana won TimeTree Best Technical Achievement in the AI Film category
🇽🇰 At the beginning of August, DokuFest, in Kosovo, presented 16 French productions or co-productions.
International Competition
- Butterfly by Florence Miailhe
- +10K by Gala Hernández López
- A Strange Colour of Dream by Yasemin Akıncı
- Bleu Heart by Samuel Suffren
- Red Forest by Laurie Lassalle
- Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites by Chheangkea
- Green Grey Black Brown by Yuyan Wang
- Genealogy of Violence by Mohamed Bourouissa
- I'm Glad You're Dead Now by Tawfeek Barhom
- L'mina by Randa Maroufi
- Lost for Words by Hannah Papacek Harper
- Loynes by Dorian Jespers
- The Boy With White Skin by Simon Panay
- Ni Dieu ni père by Paul Kermarec
- Samba Infinito by Leonardo Martinelli
- Wassupkaylee by Pepi Ginsberg
🇨🇭The Swiss festival Locarno included 10 French shorts in various strands.
Pardi di Domani: International Competition
- Boa by Alexandre Dostie
- Eldorado by Anton Bialas
- Goats! by Tonći Gaćina
- Happily Ever After by Élodie Beaumont Tarillon
- Plancton by Irene Moray
- Still Playing by Mohamed Mesbah
- A Sky So Low by Joachim Michaux
- Yo Yo by Mohammadreza Mayghani
Pardi di Domani: National Competition
- Yonne by Julietta Korbel and Yan Ciszewski
Pardi di Domani: Corti d'autore Competition
- Cairo Streets by Abdellah Taïa
- Slet 1988 by Marta Popivoda
- A South Facing Window by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
🇦🇺 In Oceania, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), Australia, presented 10 French shorts.
International Competition
- Water Girl by Sandra Desmazières
- An Urban Allegory by Alice Rohrwacher and JR
- Bleat! by Ananth Subramaniam
- As if the Earth Had Swallowed Them Up by Natalia León
- Two People Exchanging Saliva by Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata
- God is Shy by Jocelyn Charles
- I'm Glad You're Dead Now by Tawfeek Barhom
- Ito Meikyu by Boris Labbé
- Loynes by Dorian Jespers
- Shadows by Rand Beiruty
🇧🇦 The Sarajevo Film Festival, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, presented 12 French shorts in various strands.
International Competition
- God Will Not Help by Hana Jusic
- The Spectacle by Bálint Kenyeres
- Winter in March by Natalia Mirzoyan
Documentary Competition
- Slet 1988 by Marta Popivoda
European Shorts
- The Orchards by Antoine Chapon
- +10K by Gala Hernández López
- God is Shy by Jocelyn Charles
- The Exploding Girl by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel
- Loynes by Dorian Jespers
Special Programs
- Director's Factory Cearà Brasil by Luciana Vieira, Marcel Beltran, Stella Carneiro, Ary Zara, Bernardo Ale Abinader, Sharon Hakim, and Sivan Noam Shimon
- The Mud under my window by Violette Delvoye
- Winter in March by Natalia Mirzoyan
🇺🇸 The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIFF) presented two French works.
International Competition
🇩🇰 At the Odense International Film Festival (OFF), audiences could see 16 French films across all sections.
International Competition
- Chicken Jazz by Imanol Ruiz de Lara
- For Educational Purposes by Hassan Benali and Charlotte Cayeux
- Belted Up by Thibault Martin
- Métamorphosia by Elsa Michaud
- Furies by Tony Le Bacq
- The Man Who Couldn't Remain Silent by Nebojša Slijepčević
- Blood Ties by Hakim Atoui
- Screaming Metal by Nicolas Aubry
Animation Competition
- Percebes by Alexandra Ramires and Laura Gonçalves
- Sisowath Quay by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy
- Ordinary Life by Yoriko Mizushiri
- Mealitancy by Marie Royer and Zinia Scorier
- Earth Coal by Bastien Dupriez
- The Roe Deer by Delphine Priet-Mahéo
Youth Competition
Documentary Competition
🇧🇷And to bring these vibrant summer selections to a close, the Curta Kinoforum, in Brazil, offered no less than 30 French films to its audience.
International Program
- Touche pipi by Philippe Chatard
- Laissez-moi danser by Lou Cheruy Zidi
- Apocalypse by Benoit Méry
- Autokar by Sylwia Szkiłądź
- Enfin elle les tue tous by Céline Novel
- Milk Brothers by Kenza Tazi
- Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites by Chheangkea
- I'm Glad You're Dead Now by Tawfeek Barhom
- Kotowari 断り by Coralie Watanabe Prosper
- Luanda by Muriel Brunier
- Blackbird by João Paulo Miranda Maria
- Sisowath Quay by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy
- Red Flag by Dimitri Krassoulia-Vronsky
- The Spectacle de Bálint Kenyeres
Brazilian Programs
Latin American Showcase
Unlimited Showcase
Kids and Teens Showcase
- The Night Tunnel by Annechien Strouven
- The Carp and the Child by Morgane Simon and Arnaud Demuynck
- Baking With Boris by Maša Avramović
Special Programs
Media Gallery
