A focus on French short films presented at six international festivals supported by Unifrance in September 2026.
🏆 Awards for French short films 🏆
🇮🇹 In Italy, the Venice Film Festival awarded three prizes to French short films.
The Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film went to Quelques instants de bonheur, by Shaden Safieddine Tazi.
And at Settimana Internazionale della Critica, the Italian-French co-production If Things Could Ever Talk, by Giulia Cosentino, received two awards: the Best Technical Contribution Award and the Centro Nazionale del Cortometraggi Award
🇬🇷 The Drama International Short Film Festival, in Greece, awarded five French short films.
The Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards was attributed to Free Eliza (Notes Of An Anatomical Imperfection), by Alexandra Matheou.
What Do the Maknines Dream Of, by Sarra Ryma, received the “Human Values” Award by the Hellenic Parliament.
The Drama Queen Award went to Astronauta, by Giorgo Giampá.
Taxi Moto, by Gaël Kamilindi, received the Drama Green Award
And an International Competition Special Mention was awarded to Guided Tour, by Alba Jaramillo.
🇮🇩 In Indonesia, the Minikino Film Week awarded one film.
The MFW Best Short Film of the Year was awarded to Birthmark, directed by George Peter Barbari. In their statement about their choice, the International Jury Board said: In many ways, it’s a political film that never actually talks about politics, and we are proud to support greater acceptance of gender and sexual diversity.
⭐️ And to finish this awards list, a spotlight on French animation made by students: Gold Medals at the Student Academy Awards, an event that took place in Toronto during TIFF, were awarded to two French student films.
Cows, directed by Jonathan Lally, Elio Molinaro & Nicolás Acevedo Ferraté, Valentin Brachet, Maxence Corriette, Tanguy Delepine, Eireen Failly, Yulia Nikitina, and Alexandre Verspuce, studying at’ESMA
As well as Gauze, directed by Noran Friki Alebazi, Nicolas Arujah, Xinyue Ma, Yulin Yue, and Xiaonan Zhou, at ’Gobelins - L'École de l'Image.
✈️ The following people received travel funding ✈️
Mélissa Silveira traveled to the Minikino Film Week in Bali, Indonesia, to present her film Diego. Here's what she had to say:
“I was deeply moved by the warm welcome and the energy of the festival. What struck me most were the conversations with the audience after the screenings; it was very moving to see that the film could touch them so directly. I met other filmmakers from all over the world, and we were able to share some truly special moments together during the festival. Being invited to Minikino Film Week was a wonderful experience.”
Melissa Silveira
Bojina Panayotova, filmmaker of With Love and Rage, went to the San Sebastián International Film Festival, in Spain. She reports:
“The overall organization was excellent, and the screening conditions were exceptional—the theaters are magnificent. The Zabaltegi selection was very interesting. As for our screening, the reception was warm. I found it helpful to introduce my film, especially since a distributor and Spanish and international journalists came to talk to me after the screening."
Click this link to watch the official interview filmed during the festival.
Bojina Panayotova
Charlotte Bienenfeld, director of The Left Behind, traveled to FIFF de Namur, in Belgium. Here is a summary of her experience:
“I had a wonderful time at the FIFF de Namur festival. The organization was top-notch and the atmosphere was very warm and welcoming. It was really interesting to meet so many French-speaking people from all over the world. The moderator of the Q&A for my film The Left Behind was great! The FIFF organizers introduced me to international festival programmers, directors, screenwriters, jury members, producers, and more… My participation was clearly beneficial for my film’s future. I was able to attend a meeting with Nicole Garcia, which was very inspiring.”
Charlotte Bienenfeld
🔹 All the selections 🔹
In September, French short films made a name for themselves in the following festivals:
⭐️ In Italy, the Venice Film Festival selected 21 French short films and immersive works, across all strands.
Orizzonti
- Distant Blue by Amir Houshang Moein
- Tropic of the Mourning Gecko by Stavros Markoulakis
- Quelques instants de bonheur by Shaden Safieddine Tazi
- Sasso, carta, forbici by Virginia Mori
- Los poderes by Salim Jaller
Official Selection (Out of Competition)
Venice Open - Out of Competition
Venice Immersive – Biennale College
Immersive Works - Official Competition
- Sunset Motel by Gilles Jobin and Thomas Ott
- Eyes of Shame (Gédos Akys) by Tomas Tamosaitis
- Yesterday Maybe by Matthieu Van Eeckhout
- Outrenoir by Gordon
- Amsterdam 1652 : The Hands of the City by Vincent Slangen and Nienke Huitenga-Broeren
- Artou by Abderrahmane Sissako
- Everest : the First Ascent by Jean Dellac and Benjamin Auriche
Immersive Works - Out of Competition
- Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes by Lucas Roussel
- Spymaster by Jeremy Moirano
- The Amusement by Marc Barnes and Eike Langbehn
- Crafting Crimes: the Mona Lisa Heist by Chloé Rochereuil
Settimana della Internazionale Critica - Special Programs
Settimana della Internazionale Critica - Short Italian Cinema @SIC
⭐️ In Spain, the San Sebastián International Film Festival selected three French short films.
Zabaltegi-Tabakalera
- With Love and Rage by Bojina Panayotova
- Someday A Child by Marie-Rose Osta
- For The Opponents by Federico Luis
⭐️ In Greece, at the Drama International Short Film Festival, 15 shorts represented France.
International Competition
- The Flesh Dress by Joachim Hérissé
- What Do the Maknines Dream Of by Sarra Ryma
- City of Owls by Zhenia Kazankina
- Taxi Moto by Gaël Kamilindi
- Astronauta by Giorgio Giampà
- Free Eliza (Notes Of An Anatomical Imperfection) by Alexandra Matheou
International Student Competition
National Competition
Kiddo
Special Programs
International Documentary Competition
- Your City by Ting Su
- A Fighter by Aurélien Richard
- If You Don't Like It, Look Away by Margaux Fournier
- Guided Tour by Alba Jaramillo
⭐️ In Indonesia, the Minikino Film Week presented 20 French short films.
Official Selection
- Yo Yo by Mohammadreza Mayghani
- Dammen by Grégoire Graesslin
- Siham's Daughter by Marianne Barakat
- Pacífico by Daniel Duque
- Carcassonne-Acapulco by Marjorie Caup and Olivier Héraud
- Pale Sun by Adrian Moyse Dullin and Jawahine Zentar
- Diego by Mélissa Silveira
- Bleat! by Ananth Subramaniam
- Winter in March by Natalia Mirzoyan
- Nature Zero by Stéphane Kikena
- Cut! by Geoffroy Virgery and Louis Bujeau
- I'm Glad You're Dead Now by Tawfeek Barhom
- Birthmark by George Peter Barbari
- A South Facing Window by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
- Easter Day by Mykola Zasieiev
- Kosmogonia by Karolina Chabier
- Souls of Fouta by Alpha Diallo
- Saillie by Aude Thuries
- Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites by Chheangkea
- The Left Behind by Charlotte Bienenfeld
⭐️ In Canada, TIFF selected 10 French short films.
Short Cuts
- 2:Love by Ronni Shalev
- The End by Niki Lindroth Von Bahr
- The Day I Smoked a Cigarette With My Father by Sameh Alaa and Robin Vouters
- Please by Anna Mantzaris
- Fried Chicken and Strip Checkers by Ophelia Harutyunyan
- Terminal by Alexandre Siqueira
Wavelengths
- Forever... Forever by Johann Lurf
- Ghazal-e Sorkh (غزالِ سرخ) by Maryam Tafakory
- The Perspective (1653) by Ben Russell
- Masao Adachi Takes a Passport Photo by Kamal Aljafari
⭐️ We wrap with a record-breaking 46 French short films presented in Belgium by the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur.
International Competition
- Please Hold by Solal Bouloudnine
- Taxi Moto by Gaël Kamilindi
- Retour à Majapahit by Noëmie Nicolas
- The Last Spring by Mathilde Bédouet
- Free Eliza (Notes Of An Anatomical Imperfection) by Alexandra Matheou
- Khufu by Mahmoud Assi
- L'Automne by Sylvain Pioutaz
- Sisters’ Swim by Lola Degove
- The Lobsters by Maïa Descamps
- Souls of Fouta by Alpha Diallo
- Pourquoi vis-tu dans ce pays qui m'a tué ? by Hugo Mourard Mourard
- First fire by Blanca Camell Galí
FIFF Campus
- A Matter of Balance by Amélie Prévot and Marion Christmann
- A man’s heart by Chloë Danguy
- Tigre et Renard : Les animaux aussi pleurent leurs morts by Hélia Deplanque, Romain Verlinde, Clémence Cognot, Sully Desplats,and Arthur Davignie
- Take Good Care by Mathilde Blanc
- Low Tide by David Noblet
- Sulaimani by Vinnie Ann Bose
- Pale Sun by Adrian Moyse Dullin and Jawahine Zentar
- Scratch by Erwann Hette
- Precious Fantasy by Nino Bouhnik
- Mémé by Anne-Sophie Diego
- Look by Rose-Payper René
- Les Fragiles by Gahïs Idir and Mathéo Farget
- Fleurs de Malva by Anna Lys, Rémy Berlemont, Alice Hamel, Chen-Yun H, Ludivine Lebourg, Estelle Martin,and Agathe Ribout
- Uncentered by Damien Pelletier and Marion Boutin
- The Night Boots by Pierre-Luc Granjon
- The Left Behind by Charlotte Bienenfeld
- Le Jour des adultes by David Capsir
- Achille by Côme Webembe Tuitcheu and Yasmine Bennani
- Bourreau des coeurs by Camille Duvere, Inès Moussard, Antoine Genza, Ilian Belkilani, Sam Ripart,and Alexandre Julhe
- Carcassonne-Acapulco by Marjorie Caup and Olivier Héraud
- Signs From Below by Maude Vuillez
- Corail by Pauline Salles, Céanie Aouba, Nawel Boudouni, Ilona Desaulty, Ambre Goujon, Adeline Lafont, Anna-Sarah Lascar, and Gillian Montagne
- Bowl cut by Tamara Vittoz
- And I Would Be Beautiful by Mathilde George
- Looksmaxxing by Joyce Kuoh Moukouri
- Haqq by Judith Chemla, Zakaria Kadoussi
- 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
- J'ai trouvé une boîte by Éric Montchaud
- The Great Dreamscape by Rémi Durin
- The Little School by Alice Voisin
- The Cheddar Daisy by Liselotte Macagno
- La Question by Alberto Segre
- What Do the Maknines Dream Of by Sarra Ryma
- Shards by Maéva Chazalon
