Founded 2003 in Paris the International Festival SIGNES DE NUIT had become a multinational meeting place and is today active in form of competition and focus programs in Berlin, Lisboa, Bangkok, Urbino and other places. In these last years we have presented some thousand films from around 70 countries in our principal yearly
festivals and on the same time in around 140 programs in collaboration with cultural institutions and festivals in up to now 34 countries, among those Algeria, Australia, Chile, Cuba, Hongary, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Peru, Russia, Slovenia, Tunisia, Turkey, United States ...

The intention of the festival is to search and present films, which reflects new views, original imagery and also critical approaches to the crucial points of the modern human existence. It looks for astonishing, strange, surprising and sometimes provocative works. It is a place for cinema that expands its own boundaries, celebrating confrontations, tolerance and sensitization for cultural differences, independence and individuality, ready to open up for unpredictable experimentation.

For each festival, we compose new programs and invite a different jury.

Awards & Prizes

* * * AWARDS * * *

* Documentaries *

MAIN AWARD
Without restriction. Just the film you estimate as the most important one.

SIGNES AWARD
The Signs Award for Documentary honors films, which express in a surprising way sensible and perturbing aspects of reality.

NIGHT AWARD
The Night Award for Documentary honours films, which represent reality in an ambivalent and enigmatic way, avoiding stereotypes of representation and simple conclusions.

EDWARD SNOWDEN AWARD (Optional)
The Edward Snowden Award honours films, which offer sensitive(mostly) unknown informations, facts and phenomenons of eminent importance, for which the festival wishes a wide proliferation in the future.

* Short Films *

MAIN AWARD
Without restriction

SIGNES AWARD
The Signs Award honours films, which treat an important subject in an original and convincing way.

NIGHT AWARD
The Night Award honours films, which are able to balance ambiguity and complexity characterised by enigmatic mysteriousness and subtleness, which keeps mind and consideration moving.

EDWARD SNOWDEN AWARD (Optional)
The Edward Snowden Award honours films, which offer sensible (mostly) unknown informations, facts and phenomenons of eminent importance, for which the festival wishes a wide proliferation in the future.

Jury Award
...for a special aspect or quality of the work

Rules & Terms

For the Cinema in Transgression ("Experimental") and the Documentary
Competitions, no limitation (short and long).

For the Short Film competition, max length 30 min.

For the Focus programs (thematic, regional) no limitation

For the competition programs the production year should not be older as 2024, for the focus programs not older as 2016.

In the case your film is chosen, we will contact you asking for a screening copy. Also, if your film is not chosen immediately, it can be chosen later for another of our upcoming festivals during the year (in another country/town).

With the submission on this platform, you give automatically the screening permission of your film to the festival for this actual edition. The festival can integrate your film in its actual edition without further permissions from your side. You also can't add further condition for the screening permission (for example fee requests etc.)

We can't send back dvds, blurays, usb keys, hard disc etc.

13 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Ron Chiers

    Signes de Nuit film festival takes place in several countries. I am proud that my short film A Robot of Me is part of it. Highly recommended for independent filmmakers!

    December 2025
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  • Christophe Karabache

    Outstanding festival! Excellent standard programming and high-level competition. Good communication. I recommend it!

    November 2025
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  • Paul Arne Wagner

    This is a fantastic, unique film event.

    November 2025
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  • Neil L. Harvey

    The films that are selected and shown at this festival are very high quality, thought provoking and moving. If I may say so, I feel that this festival and the other festivals it hosts, hope to seriously move the art of film making forward in dramatic ways. This is forward edge territory. We are very grateful to know of this work and to participate.

    November 2025
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  • Jerome Amimer

    Amazing festival! Very high quality. I recommend!

    December 2024
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