The 2300 Plan 9 Festival, also known as Les Étranges Nuits du Cinéma, is a must-attend event for fans of underground, trash, and bold cinema. Every year, in the heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds, this festival transforms the Temple Allemand, a former place of worship, into a space dedicated to showcasing films that defy convention. Over the course of a week, audiences can discover a rich and eclectic program, ranging from extreme horror films to experimental short films and innovative creations that push the boundaries of classical cinema.

This festival is a true laboratory of creativity, featuring works that span from gore to animation, mashups, and DIY films, often made with modest means but overflowing with passion. The International Courts-mais-Trash Competition is one of the highlights of the event, providing a platform for emerging filmmakers to present their most daring creations, with awards given by both a jury and the audience.

In addition to the screenings, the festival's unique atmosphere—filled with cine-concerts, creative workshops, and debates—makes it a true celebration of non-conventional cinema. Whether you're a fan of thrills, absurd humor, or simply curious to discover films that you won't find anywhere else, 2300 Plan 9 is an unmissable experience for any cinephile seeking originality and surprises.

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Le festival 2300 Plan 9, également connu sous le nom de Les Étranges Nuits du Cinéma, est un rendez-vous immanquable pour les amateurs de cinéma underground, trash et audacieux. Chaque année, au cœur de La Chaux-de-Fonds, ce festival transforme le Temple Allemand, un ancien lieu de culte, en un espace dédié aux projections de films qui sortent des sentiers battus. Pendant une semaine, les spectateurs peuvent découvrir une programmation riche et éclectique, allant des films d'horreur les plus extrêmes aux courts-métrages expérimentaux, en passant par des créations innovantes qui repoussent les frontières du cinéma classique.

Ce festival est un véritable laboratoire de créativité, où l’on peut apprécier des œuvres allant du gore, à l'animation en passant par des mashups et des films bricolés, souvent réalisés avec des moyens modestes mais une passion débordante. Le Concours International Courts-mais-Trash est l'une des pièces maîtresses de l'événement, offrant une plateforme aux réalisateurs émergents pour présenter leurs créations les plus délirantes, avec des récompenses décernées par un jury et le public.

Outre les projections, l’ambiance unique du festival, ponctuée de ciné-concerts, d'ateliers créatifs et de débats, contribue à faire de cet événement une véritable célébration du cinéma non conventionnel. Que vous soyez un amateur de sensations fortes, un fan d'humour absurde ou simplement curieux de découvrir des films que vous ne verrez nulle part ailleurs, 2300 Plan 9 est une expérience incontournable pour tout cinéphile en quête d'originalité et de surprises​

The International Courts-mais-Trash Competition at the 2300 Plan 9 festival is open to everyone, with no registration fees. Filmmakers can submit their most unusual and offbeat creations at no cost to participate.

Two main prizes are awarded:

Jury Prize: A panel of independent and underground cinema professionals evaluates films based on their creativity, originality, and uniqueness.
Audience Award: The audience votes live for their favorite short film, offering popular and symbolic recognition to the creators.Le Concours International Courts-mais-Trash du festival 2300 Plan 9 est ouvert à tout·e·s, sans frais d’inscription. Les réalisateur·rice·s peuvent soumettre leurs créations les plus insolites et décalées sans aucun coût pour participer.

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Deux prix principaux sont décernés :

Prix du Jury : un groupe de professionnel·le·s du cinéma indépendant et underground évalue les films en fonction de leur créativité, originalité et singularité.
Prix du Public : les spectateur·rice·s votent en direct pour leur court-métrage préféré, offrant une reconnaissance populaire et symbolique aux créateur·rice·s.


Article 1
Definition and objectives
The utlitmate goal of the “Courts-Mais-Trash” contest is to give to the audience the opportunity to discover the different «strangeness» by screening short films.
The awards are attributed to one or several film directors based on the «strange quality» without distinction of categories. The contest is open to everyone.
The jury is composed of three to five cultural or cinematic personalities. They will discuss behind closed doors to decide who’s going to receive some prizes or specials acknowledgements. Its decisions are final. No exchange will take place concerning his deliberation and decisions.
The audience also awards a prize to one of the film director. It should be noted that the prices are not pecuniary, but that they are chosen and created in the spirit of the festival.

Article 2
Conditions
The competition is open to everyone, professionals or amateurs. Initially, because of the increasing participation year after year, the movies that will be screened are subject of a pre-selection by a comity composed of the festival organizers.
The selected film directors will of course be informed beforehand. No money will be given for the selected films screening.
The films must be carried out or produced after January 1, 2022 and their duration should not exceed 20
minutes. The documentaries and music clip are not allowed in the competiton.

Article 3
Registration
Registration must be done on the festival’s website http://www.2300plan9.com.
As soon as the inscription is confirmed, you will receive a confirmation email. The registration must be done til january 15, 2025 last deadline.
It is strongly recommended to send a web link first, to watch your movie. If the movie is selected, we will ask
you to send a video file, the best quality possible. Any unsolicited film, no matter the support, will not be returned.
2300 Plan 9, les Etranges Nuits du Cinéma may not screen a selected movie if its quality is deemed too low.
Candidates must imperatively provide:
• Two pictures from the film (HD format if numeric)
• A complete press book for festival’s catalogue and the media
When you register, you will be automatically added to the newsletter concerning the competition.

Article 4
Selection
As previously said, a comity will select the films to be screened during the festival. Candidates are informed of
their selection or non-selection by e-mail. Les Étranges Nuits du Cinéma will keep the supports of selection as well as the selected films documents.
Article 5
Participation
It should be noted that the festival diffuses only numerical material, so the films must correspond to the following technical standards:
HIGH-QUALITY MASTER REQUIREMENT (preferred)
- Video Resolution: Maximum 1920x1080
- All content exceeding the resolution of 1920x1080 will be downscaled to fit the standard screening format.
- Video Frame Rate: 24fps or 25fps (preferred), other frame rates may be accepted but will be converted to preferred rate
- Video Codec: Apple ProRes 422 HQ or better (preferred), DCP (Digital Cinema Package) for theatrical screening
- Video Bit Depth: 10 bits (recommended), 8 bits (accepted)
- Video Bitrate: As high as possible within file size and format constraints
- Audio Format: Linear PCM Stereo
- Audio Sample Rate: 48kHz and 24-bit (television standard)
- Audio Normalization: EBU-R128 or similar standard
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE FORMAT (if high-quality source is not available)
- Video Codec: H.265 (HEVC) with a bitrate of 30-50 Mbps (preferred if ProRes/DCP not available)
- Video Standards: 1080p24, 1080p25 (preferred); other HD standards may be accepted but will be converted
- Audio Format: Linear PCM Stereo (no AAC)
- Audio Sample Rate: 48kHz and 24-bit (television standard)
UNACCEPTABLE FORMATS AND QUALITY (will be rejected)
- Video Resolution: Non-standard sizes, anything below 1280x720
- Video Codecs: Low-quality codecs such as MPEG Layer 4, MP3, etc.
- Video Bitrate: Any HD files with a bitrate lower than 30 Mbps
- Audio Formats: AAC or any compressed formats with low bitrate
- Audio Bitrate: Any audio with a bitrate lower than 256 kbps
- File Formats: .AVI files or any other formats not widely recognized or supported
The selected candidates grant the festival the reproduction rights of photographs or extracts (maximum 3 minutes) without counterpart, this at promotional ends in the compliance with the rules and the usual limits.

Article 6
Invitation
Les Étranges Nuits du CInéma invites the selected film directors to come present their work to the public and the media, as well as taking part to a discussion with the audience after the projection.
Article 7
The organizers are in charge to regulate the unforeseen cases in this regulation.

Article 8
Acceptation
The subscription to this contest implies the general acceptance of all terms of participation. The legal base is in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
La Chaux-de-Fonds, November 2024.
Association 2300 Plan 9 - Les Étranges Nuits du Cinéma - Rue du Soleil 4 - 2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds www.2300plan9.com