The latest Unifrance Short Film Awards features several new developments. In keeping with one of Unifrance’s core missions—promoting the French-speaking world internationally—the Award has refocused on films originally produced in French, in which French is the predominant language. In addition, priority has been given to films at the very beginning of their festival circuit.
For its first year, the selection committee was composed of Aurore Auguste, Head of Acquisitions of the Institut Français' Film and Series Division; Manon Billaut, Director of the Institut Jean Vigo, David Sanchez, a film journalist who also works in Unifrance’s short film department. The committee screened more than 170 films.
The selection features 18 titles by nine female and 10 male directors, including four debut films, spanning fiction, animation, and documentary.
Film director Sandra Desmazières did us the honor of designing the poster for this edition, featuring the colors of a blazing, passionate sunset—a fitting image for this Award, which celebrates short films and their filmmakers at the start of their careers.
The 2026 jury
- Lucie Canistro – Sooner
- Delphine Jeanneret – Locarno Film Festival, Winterthur International Short Film Festival
- Julia Kowalski – film director
- Gilles Reunis – Be TV (Belgium)
- Dian Weys – film director, recipient of the Unfrance Short Film Award in 2025
The selected films
- Black Beast by Joffrey Monteiro-Noël
- Chambre 206 by Laurie Bisceglia
- Breath by Luis Letailleur
- The Last Snow by Rodolphe Bouquet-Populus
- El Din by Julien Regnard and Pascal Giraud
- La Fille à la recherche de la cabane by Phane Montet
- Hommes de bois by Guillaume Scaillet
- In articulo mortis by Karine Winczura
- Lippenstift by Elsa Diringer
- Mémé by Anne-Sophie Diego
- NRL, La Nouvelle Réunion Libre by Manon Amacouty
- Premier feu by Blanca Camell Galí
- Little Miss Star by Mélissandre Carrasco
- Sea Sun and Burn by Pauline Cancel
- Swapper by Louis-Barthélemy Rousseau
- Le Tandem by Edgar Allender
- Yaoi Dumb Bitch by Mathieu Morel
- Winter Talk by Vassili Schémann
The jury met on Wednesday, April 29 to screen the 18 selected films and to decide on the Grand Prix, Special Jury Prize, Be TV Award, and the SOONER Award.
The awards will be announced in Cannes on Tuesday, May 19, in the presence of the award winners.
2026 Short Film Distributor Award
Also as part of the evening dedicated to short films, which will take place on May 19 on the Unifrance Terrace during the Cannes Film Festival, and for the eighth consecutive year, Unifrance and La Fête du court métrage will also present the 2026 Short Film Distributor Award.
Following a call for entries, distributors present a review of their 2025 activities to a jury and may detail their strategies, their approaches to the international market, and their greatest successes. The Prize consists of a €3,000 award from Unifrance and, from La Fête du court métrage, a carte blanche for the next edition.
The 2026 Short Film Distribuotor Award jury members are:
- Melen Bouëtard-Peltier – TV and Inflight Sales at The Party Film Sales
- Cécile Cadoux – Head of Programming at the Entrevues Belfort Film Festival
- Marine Gaillard – Distribution Manager of the Institut français' Film and Series Division
The companies that applied this year are: EROÏN Films, La Kourmétragerie, oriGine films, Pentacle Distribution, Salaud Morisset, Shortcuts, and Vidéoclub.
Previous winners include: Manifest (2025), Miyu Distribution (2024), Autour de Minuit (2023)…
We would like to extend our warmest thanks to:
- Sandra Desmazières for the illustration that defines this 24th edition.
- Our loyal partners: TITRAFILM, Le Grand Action, Shortfilmdepot, and Brefcinéma
- All the filmmakers, producers, and distributors who submitted their films
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