French short films tour the world: Summer 2026

04 SEPTEMBER 2026

An overview of the French short films that screened internationally during the summer of 2026 at 13 festivals supported by Unifrance.

🏆 Awards for French films 🏆

In South Africa, the Durban International Film Festival awarded two French short films.

The Best South African Short Film Award went to Vultures by Dian Weis.
A Special Mention was given to Please Hold by Solal Bouloudnine.

in Bulgaria, In The Palace International Short Film Festival awarded three French short films.

Agapito by Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero received the Best Fiction Award.
Dog Alone by Marta Reis Andrade received Best Animation.
The Man in the Showers by Hakim Atoui received a Special Mention in the Fiction category.

Agapito

The Melbourne International Film Festival awarded one French short film.

The Best Documentary Short Film Award went to Intersecting Memory by Shayma’ Awawdeh, “a document of Palestinian life and struggle that is gripping in its construction and shattering in its humanity." (Jury statement.)

Three awards were given to French short films at the Fantasia Film Festival

The Poulain Noir Award for Best Short - Silver went to Il n’y a qu’un poisson dans l’eau by Ilona Laouchez, Gabrielle Montané, Julia Ragot, André Yu, and Hector de Ghaisne de Bourmont.
The Poulain Noir Award for Best Short - Bronze went to Sketches on Ice by Marion Auvin.
The Poulain Noir Special Mention went to Cloud Fish by Noé Garcia.
Il n'y a qu'un poisson dans l'eau

In Portugal, four French short films received awards at the Curtas Vila do Conde festival.

Best Animated Short went to The Last Spring by Mathilde Bédouet.
The International Competition Audience Award was attributed to What Do the Maknines Dream Of by Sarra Ryma.
The National Competition Audience Award was given to Asphalt Reds by João Niza Ribeiro.
In Curtinhas, the competition of films for young audiences, who are also the jury, the Honorable Mention was attributed to Duet by Léo Brunel.

Five French short films scooped awards at the Locarno Film Festival in the Pardi di Domani strand.

The Corti d’Autore Golden Leopard was awarded to The Bovine Comedy by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke.
The International Competition Silver Leopard went to Khufu by Mahmoud Assi.
The National Competition Golden Leopard was awarded to Typhoon Mambo by Domenico Singha Pedroli.
A Corti d’Autore Special Mention was given to Et si Thuy n’existait pas by Carlo Francisco Manatad.
An International Competition Special Mention was given to Las Damas by Camille Zéhenne

The Sarajevo Film Festival awarded two French short films.

The Heart of Sarajevo for Best Narrative Short Film went to Nobody Said Anything by Tamara Todorovic.
Porkatal by Sis Gürdal received a Special Mention.

In the United States, French short films received five awards at the Rhode Island International Film Festival

The Grand Prize for Best Live Action Short went to 7h53 by Pénélope Rose.
The Grand Prize for Best Short Animation wen to Cartoon Physics by Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter.
The First Prize for Best Comedy Short went to Blue Ice by Paul Dollé.
The First Prize for Best LGBTQ Best Short went to Shards by Maéva Chazalon.
The First Prize for Best Music Video went to Patience (Sabali) by Valentin Guiod.

7h53

In Kosovo, the DokuFest awarded one French short film.

The International Short Film Award was given to Normal Planet by Ekiem Barbier.

In Odense, Denmark, French short films received five accolades, between awards and mentions

The Best Animation Award went to Tourists by Maria Kralovic.
Dancing Pigeons by Cristofer Nilsson was a finalist in the Best International Fiction Award.
Agapito by Arvin Berlarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero was a finalist in the SoapBox Award
Charlie Is not a Boy by Pol Kurucz was a finalist in the Artist Award.
Please by Anna Mantzaris was a finalist in the Audience Award.

In Sao Paulo, the Curta Kinoforum awarded six French films in different sections

The Golden Butterly Trophy for Foreign Film Highlight went to Red Bolero by Angel Molina
The SESC TV Award for emerging filmmakers went to Astronauta by Giorgo Giampá

The following films were among the Top 10 selected by audiences:
For the Opponents by Federico Luis
Je suis née soldat by Sahara Moeini
Los Mentirosos by Eduardo Braun Costa
Please by Anna Mantzaris

Red Bolero

✈️ The following people received travel funding ✈️

Rosalie Charrier traveled to the Curtas Vila do Conde festival to present her film Nos Panthéons. Here is what she had to say: “I absolutely loved my experience at Curtas! There was such charm, such a warm welcome, and such genuine encounters in a city I really enjoyed exploring. Everything was done to make us feel welcome, and we certainly did! The evening of our screening was beautiful, under the starry sky. I really enjoyed discovering the other selected films.
Generally speaking, whenever possible, participating in film festivals is an opportunity not to be missed!”

Projection ‘Nos Panthéons’ - Vila do Conde’

Rachel Gutgarts went to Locarno to present In Dreams, When You Can't Sleep At Night. She sums up her experience: “I found it very rewarding to present my film in person at Locarno. The reception was wonderful and very warm. The screening conditions were impeccable, and the discussion and presentation were very respectful. The programmers told me that this selection was particularly prestigious, since they had received over 5,000 films this year and had selected only 20!

The connections I made strengthened my professional relationships with programmers and industry professionals whom I don’t often have the opportunity to meet.
I’d really love to continue traveling with this film and meeting new audiences.”

Rachel Gutgars
©Claudia Campoli / Locarno Film Festival

Suzanne Sebo presented her film The Troublemakers at the Hiroshima Animation Season in Japan. Here is her account: “The festival was organized with great care and was very well structured. The event demonstrated genuine artistic ambition, with a rich, varied, and cohesive program. Screenings were generally followed by opportunities for discussion with the audience.
A session titled ‘Networking Talk’ was dedicated to professional discussions. Social gatherings were also held every evening, offering more informal opportunities for networking. The hospitality was terrific. My participation in this event was not only useful but truly formative for my professional career. It stands as a defining experience, both artistically and personally.”

Suzanne Sebo (in red) at the Hiroshima Animation Season

And Aurélien Richard traveled to Saõ Paulo, Brazil, to present his film A Fighter at the 37th Curta Kinoforum. These are his impressions: “I found the festival’s organization to be very smooth; the team was very helpful before, during, and after the festival. The screenings I attended always took place under impeccable conditions. My film was always introduced before each screening, and I always had the opportunity to say a few words beforehand. The networking events organized by the festival were very beneficial.
I found my participation in this event very useful. I’m also delighted to have had the opportunity to show my film to a Brazilian audience.”