Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival
The world's largest and most important short film festival, held in France
Overview
The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is the largest short film event in the world, screening hundreds of shorts and attracting over 160,000 admissions annually. Held in central France each February, it is the definitive global gathering for the short film community.
The festival runs an international competition, a national French competition, and a massive short film market where distributors and broadcasters acquire content. The market component makes Clermont-Ferrand uniquely valuable for filmmakers seeking distribution for their shorts.
How It Works
Winning or screening at Clermont-Ferrand carries enormous prestige in the international short film world. The festival has helped launch careers of filmmakers who went on to make award-winning features.
Submission fees range from approximately 15 to 30 EUR depending on the deadline. Travel to Clermont-Ferrand is affordable compared to major European capitals, making the festival accessible for independent filmmakers.
Who Uses It
The single most important festival for short filmmakers working internationally. If you are serious about a career in short-form filmmaking, Clermont-Ferrand should be at the top of your festival list.
Pricing & Plans
Clermont-Ferrand submission fees range from approximately EUR 15-30 depending on the deadline tier, making it one of the most affordable major festivals to submit to anywhere in the world. The Short Film Market, running alongside the festival, charges separate accreditation fees for industry professionals, typically starting at approximately EUR 100-200 for market access that includes industry screenings, networking events, and access to the market's screening booths and meeting areas. Festival passes for public attendees provide access to screening programs at very reasonable prices, reflecting the festival's French cultural institution model that prioritizes public access to cinema. Accommodation in Clermont-Ferrand is notably affordable compared to major European festival cities, with hotel rates during the February festival typically ranging from EUR 50-150 per night, making it one of the most budget-friendly major festivals in the world to attend. Travel to Clermont-Ferrand is straightforward from Paris (approximately 3.5 hours by train) and other major European cities, with regional flights also available. The city's compact size means all festival venues are accessible on foot, eliminating transportation costs and creating the walkable, concentrated festival experience that encourages spontaneous interaction and discovery.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
Clermont-Ferrand is unquestionably the most important short film festival in the world, with over 160,000 admissions annually and a concentration of short film buyers, distributors, and broadcasters that no other event can match, making it the definitive global marketplace for short-form content. The Short Film Market provides the only dedicated marketplace specifically for short film distribution, connecting filmmakers with television broadcasters, streaming platforms, and distributors who actively acquire short content for their programming — a commercial ecosystem that barely exists at feature-focused festivals. The festival's massive scale — screening hundreds of short films across multiple competition and screening programs — creates a comprehensive snapshot of global short filmmaking that is unparalleled, and selection positions your work among the best shorts produced worldwide each year. Clermont-Ferrand's track record of launching careers is extraordinary, with countless filmmakers using the festival as a springboard from short films to feature careers, as industry professionals specifically attend to discover emerging talent. The affordable, compact, and welcoming city of Clermont-Ferrand creates one of the most enjoyable and stress-free major festival experiences anywhere, where filmmakers from around the world gather in a concentrated environment that encourages genuine cultural exchange and creative community. The festival's French cultural institution model means it operates with genuine commitment to celebrating short film as an art form rather than as a commercial industry event, creating a programming environment that values artistic ambition and creative originality.
What Could Be Better
The festival's location in central France, while charming and affordable, is less accessible than festivals in major international cities, and the travel logistics of reaching Clermont-Ferrand from outside Europe can be complex, requiring connecting flights or multi-leg train journeys. The February timing in central France means cold, grey weather that, while less extreme than some winter festivals, does not provide the glamorous settings of Mediterranean or resort-town events. The massive volume of short films screened means individual titles compete for attention among hundreds of other selections, and the sheer scale of the program makes it impossible for any single attendee, buyer, or critic to see even a fraction of the programmed work. The Short Film Market, while the world's most important for short content, reflects the commercial reality that short film distribution generates modest revenue compared to features, and most deals negotiated at the market involve small licensing fees rather than career-changing acquisitions. The festival's French-language environment can create communication challenges for non-French-speaking filmmakers, though English is widely spoken among international attendees and industry professionals. For North American filmmakers, the investment in international travel to attend a short film festival in central France may be difficult to justify financially, particularly for filmmakers whose shorts have limited European distribution potential.
Our Recommendation
Clermont-Ferrand is an absolute must-submit festival for any serious short filmmaker working internationally, as the festival's combination of scale, prestige, market access, and career-launching track record makes it the single most important event in the global short film ecosystem. The festival is essential for filmmakers whose short films have international appeal and would benefit from exposure to European and global buyers, broadcasters, and distributors through the Short Film Market. If you can only attend one short film festival anywhere in the world, Clermont-Ferrand should be your choice, as the concentration of industry professionals, fellow filmmakers, and screening opportunities is unmatched. Pair your Clermont-Ferrand submission with Palm Springs ShortFest to cover both the international and North American/Oscar-qualifying pathways for your short film. For filmmakers using short films as stepping stones to feature careers, the connections made at Clermont-Ferrand with international producers, sales agents, and development executives can directly support the financing and distribution of future feature projects.
Pro Tips
Submit to Clermont-Ferrand by the earliest deadline and ensure your short film includes professional French subtitles alongside English ones, as the French audience and many European buyers prefer or require French-language accessibility. Register for Short Film Market accreditation alongside your festival submission, as the market provides access to the buyers and distributors who can actually license and distribute your short film commercially, which is the festival's most valuable career benefit beyond the screening itself. Prepare a comprehensive short film dossier that includes your short alongside information about your next project (ideally a feature in development), as the industry professionals you meet at Clermont-Ferrand are specifically looking for emerging talent to support in their career progression from shorts to features. Attend as many screening programs as possible to understand the international short film landscape and benchmark your work against the best being produced globally, as this knowledge informs your creative development and festival strategy. Build relationships with other international filmmakers at the festival, as the Clermont-Ferrand community is genuinely global and the connections made with fellow emerging filmmakers from other countries often lead to international co-productions, creative collaborations, and mutual career support.