Festival Européen du Court Métrage de Bordeaux (29)

Festival Start: 26 März 2026      Festival Ende: 27 März 2026

DATE AND LOCATION

The 29th edition of the European Short Film Festival of Bordeaux will take place from March 26th to 27th 2026. The projection nights will take place at the UGC Ciné-Cité cinema in Bordeaux.

GOALS

The European Short Film Festival of Bordeaux aims to promote the short film format to the Région Aquitaine's audience. It facilitates the access to cinema for a large public, from all ages. It also supports the discovery of talented directors coming from all over Europe.,It’s a way for the filmmakers to be appreciated by a jury, no matter if they are mere enthusiasts or professionals.

Prizes will be given to the directors in order to help them through their artistic approach. They will reward the best short films of the screened selection. Thus, the directors must be present or have someone to be present for them when the prizes will be given.

6 prizes will be given in total, all selection/ competition taken together, and by 5 jurys:

The Professional jury is made of three persons whose profession is linked to the movie industry: directors, technicians, actors… They award a prize in the fiction and animation selections.

The Student jury is composed of three persons whose studies are linked to the cinema. They award a prize in the fiction and animation selections.

The SensCritique Jury is composed of three persons representing the media SensCritique. They award a prize in the fiction and animation selections.

The France 3 jury is composed of journalists from France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine. They award a prize in the Aquitaine selection.

The Public can vote once per night, thanks to ballot papers distributed after the projections.

Exceptionally, another prize and a special mention can be attributed to a short-film.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

Participation to the festival is open to every short film produced or co-produced in Europe and directed after January the 1st, 2025.

One movie will be accepted per candidate. A short film that has already been selected for former sessions of the festival cannot be selected once again.

The short film shall last between 5 and 25 minutes, credits included. We don’t accept documentaries.

We will only accept a DCP format for the selected shorts. One month prior to the festival, the selected short films will receive an email indicating the confirmation and a DCP copy will be requested.

This means that the candidate has to be aware of the possibility to prepare a DCP format copy of the short as soon as possible. If the selected contestant is not able to send us a DCP, we have a DCP conversion laboratory available and we can provide quotes for candidates. They will have a week to send us an answer (whether they will be attending the festival and will be able to produce a DCP or not) between February 18th and February 25th of 2025. The date is likely to change but we will give you any new information if needed.

Every film will preferably be in French spoken language, otherwise subtitled in French or in english.

No theme has been chosen for the “animation” and “fiction” categories, so it can’t reconsider its eligibility. The short film must be a fiction or animation piece. We don’t accept documentaries. The short shall last between 5 and 25 minutes.

The short film has to be an original and personal creation. It cannot, in any case, contain any archival footage, or extract from another film or TV broadcasting, unless the contestant has legal rights to use those works.


TERMS OF ENROLMENT

PARTICIPANTS

The participation is open to every European person, physical or legal entity, amateur or professional.

Organizers and jury members are not authorized to contest.

FINANCIAL CONDITION

Registration for the festival is free.


Deadlines AND NECESSARY DOCUMENTS

Registration is open from August, 20th 2025 until January, 4th 2026.

The DCP of the short film will have to have the name of the director, the year of realization, the title, the time and, if necessary, the name of the production company.

The signup form and the regulation of the selection can be downloaded on the website of the association “Extérieur Nuit” that organizes the festival:

https://festivalcourtmetragebordeaux.com/. A filmography will be requested.

Application form is to be sent to:

Festival Européen du Court-Métrage de Bordeaux
Association Extérieur Nuit
680 cours de la Libération
33405 TALENCE CEDEX
France

(Define “Valeur non commerciale - usage culturel” on the delivery).

Registration for the festival implies acceptance of the screening of the short film on the CinéCapsule platform according to the conditions applicable to this platform.


SELECTION AND PROGRAM

SELECTION

All the movies that will be submitted to the selection will be watched by members of the association Extérieur Nuit who organise the festival. The association will come up with a first selection of a few dozen of movies in the different categories, including fiction and animation. (the number depending on the duration of the movies). The criteria are decided by those members. Yet, the scenaristic, technical and aesthetic quality of the short film will be valued. If their short film happens to be selected, the applicants will be informed of the decision of the association through email.

These choices will be final and will not be reconsidered in any case. The DCPs of the selected films are kept for archives of the association "Extérieur Nuit".

The selected films will be submitted to the jurys and/or shown during special screenings.


PROGRAM

Films will be screened for two days, during the ‘competition’ but also special screenings for young people and elderly in the morning and the afternoon of the aforementioned days.

The direction of the festival sets the order and the time of the screenings of every selected film. These choices will be final and will not be reconsidered in any case.

Once selected, a short film cannot be withdrawn from the selection.


JURY AND Awards

prizes will be given to the directors in order to help them through their artistic approach. The juries will reward the best short films of the screened selection. Thus, the directors must be present or have someone to be present for them when the prizes will be given.

Exceptionally, another prize and a special mention can be attributed to a short-film.

The award ceremony night will take place on the evening of the last day at the UGC Ciné-Cité cinema of Bordeaux.


RESPONSIBILITY

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PARTICIPANTS

The delivery of copies and their return are at the sole risk of the participants who purchase insurance against loss, theft or damage.

Applicants are entirely responsible for their work: image, soundtrack and sound effects. The applicant commits oneself to own fully the images, soundtrack and sound effects used for the direction of their short film, or to compensate the beneficiary for every use of sound or image which would not be copyright-free.

Participants must respect the protection of individuals’ images and they must be able to provide the direction of the festival with a signed contract for transfer of image copyright with every individual which appears in their short film(s), and a written parental consent for the cession of rights of their children, if needed.


RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ORGANIZERS

Organizers disclaim all responsibility in case of robbery, loss or any damages made to the copies of the short films.

Organizers cannot be held responsible of any delay and loss because of postal services, delivery companies, their disappearance resulting from a fortuitous situation, a case of force majeure or because of a third party.


FORCE MAJEURE

The responsibility of organizers cannot be challenged if, in a case of force majeure or any reason against their wishes, the festival had to be modified or cancelled.

In case of force majeure, organizers reserve the right to extend the period of participation or modify the dates of selection.


MODIFICATION OF THE REGULATION

Additions or modifications to this regulation can be made until seven days before the deadline for handing in the registration file. Those additions or modifications are accessible on the festival official website: http://festivalcourtmetragebordeaux.com/.

Additions or modifications are fully part of the regulation. Registered contestants will receive an email to inform them of any changes.


PROMOTION

The organizers of the festival have the right to authorize reproduction and screening of all the chosen film extracts (less than three minutes) in the festival publication (including the website, social networks, radio, press and television).


LITIGATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE REGULATION

The participants commit themselves on their honor that all the information they gave for the 29th European Short Film Festival of Bordeaux are exact.

The participation to the festival implies full agreement to the regulations and decisions concerning every aspect of the competition, which will be definitive and executory. This regulations apply to the entire festival. The non-compliance to the regulation will bring the cancellation of the registration.

In case of disagreement or contestation about the interpretation or the application of this regulation, the participants commit themselves to look for an out of court amicable agreement with the direction of the festival before any appeal to the court. The direction of the festival has the right to make some eventual dispensations in order to solve unexpected problems. In case it does not solve everything, the French text of the present regulation will become the law and the litigation will be under the exclusive responsibility of the Tribunal Judiciaire of Bordeaux.