DOWNDLOAD THE RULES (Français ou anglais) : https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/14Lz-8h-ALKayYSo3gzBnmGi3NQqziMYc
Festival International du Film Ornithologique de Ménigoute 2026
ENTRIES FOR FEATURES AND SHORTS FILMS IS OPEN FROM:
o 2 FEBRUARY TO 19 JUNE 2026
Article 1. GENERAL PRESENTATION
Since 1985, the Ménigoute International Ornithological Film Festival (FIFO) has been a must-see event for wildlife cinema in France. It is organised by the MAINATE association, based in Ménigoute (79).
The objectives of the Ménigoute Festival through its film programme are:
• To promote the qualities, artistic singularities and scientific content of wildlife films and audiovisual works in order to raise awareness among festival-goers about biodiversity and actions to protect it;
• To support the wildlife and environmental documentary industry by screening films for all audiences.
The 42nd International Ornithological Film Festival will take place from 27 October to 1 November 2026 in Ménigoute (Deux-Sèvres Department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France). Every year, the Ménigoute Festival programmes, distributes and screens dozens of wildlife and nature documentaries in public screenings. These films are selected by the festival team and its selection committee. There are currently two selection committees, one for feature-length films and the other for short films.
Article 2. FILM CATEGORIES AND THEMES
Les films sont inscrits et envoyés aux comités de sélection selon deux catégories :
• FEATURE Any film with a running time of 15 minutes or more
• SHORT Any film shorter than 15 minutes
The rules and conditions for participation are identical for both categories, with the exception of the production date for feature films, which must be 2026 or 2025.
All films that meet the following festival criteria are eligible for submission:
• Films must focus on the observation, protection or conservation of nature or wild animals. Films focusing exclusively on domestic animals, promoting the hunting of wild animals or the destruction of flora and fauna are not eligible.
• All genres, professional or amateur: documentary, fiction, animation, educational, research, etc. Films of an advertising nature are not accepted;
• Image quality: To be accepted, films must meet the requirements for projection on a cinema screen, i.e. they must be in high definition (see Article 5).
• In a series of films or episodes produced by the same production team, only one episode may be submitted to the festival.
• Different films made by the same team may be submitted, but no more than one film may be selected.
• No films previously submitted to the festival in previous years will be accepted.
Article 3. FILM APPLICATION PACKAGE
Each film submitted must include a complete application form and a link to view the film.
The rules and registration details are available on the festival website:
https://www.menigoute-festival.org/vous-etes-realisateurs.html
Film files can be submitted in one of the following ways:
• Upload to the festival's online application platform: Filmfreeway
• An online viewing link (Vimeo, YouTube, Cloud, etc.)
• A download link
• A hard drive or USB stick* must be sent to:
Association Mainate, 16 bis rue de St Maixent, BP 10 005, 79340 MÉNIGOUTE
Access to view the film must be provided to the festival organisers before 19 June 2026.
*The hard drive or USB stick will be returned, after the festival, to the address provided on the registration form by tracked post. They may also be handed over in person during the event if requested from the festival team.
The sender is solely responsible for the insurance and shipping costs of the media containing the films. All related charges, customs brokerage fees for import or export will also be the sole responsibility of the sender. For the return of items, the festival organisation will cover the transport and insurance costs of the films up to a value of €30 per item.
Article 4. SELECTION COMMITTEES
The selection committees for feature films and short films will view all films that meet the criteria set out in Article 2 before making their final selection. The selection will determine which films will be screened in competition during the Ménigoute Festival. The selection committees' decision will be final. In the event that one or more films are not selected, any written complaints received will be forwarded to the relevant committee, feature or short film. The festival organisers prohibit any pressure being exerted on committee members, under penalty of a three-year ban from participating in the Ménigoute Festival film competition.
The selection or rejection of each application will be announced by email between 15 July and 31 August 2026.
The official response will be sent to the email address provided on the film's application form. We invite applicants to ensure that the relevant email account is checked regularly during the summer period.
Article 5. SELECTION OF A FILM IN COMPETITION AND PROMOTION
The rights holder of the selected film authorises up to three public screenings of the film during the festival, including the award-winning film screening, without claiming any copyright or remuneration of any kind.
The version of the film that has been approved by the festival committee is the version that will be screened during the event. No other file of the film that has been modified after selection will be accepted by the festival organisers. Once the rights holder has given their agreement to the programme by signing this document, no film may be withdrawn from the competition.
Number of screenings during the event
A selected film may be screened several times at the Ménigoute sports hall, up to twice if the film receives an award. If the festival organisers choose this film for the festival's decentralised programme, the film may be screened once more at the cinema in Vasles (79).
Required film format
The selected film must be sent in its entirety and in the version viewed and approved by the festival organisers between 1st August and 15th September 2026 at the latest.
In the event that a different format is provided, the festival organisers reserve the right to create a new copy of the film in the requested format. Any loss of quality or technical issues resulting from this cannot give rise to any claims on the part of the participant. An incorrect format may result in the film being disqualified. If in doubt, please contact us : films.festivalmenigoute@gmail.com
French dubbing of a foreign feature film
The festival will provide translation and dubbing services for all foreign-language films. The selected film must be sent in its original version so that it can be dubbed into French in the following format:
o Required format for a foreign language film:
Apple ProRes 422 or 422HQ .mov 1920x1080 25p, 50p ou 50i
2 audio stereo will must be provided :
- Track 1 for the original version;
- Track 2 for international mixes in stereo without narration.
- The full texts of the dialogues and commentaries, along with the timecodes
- A list in Latin names of the species appearing in the film
Promotion of the film and the festival
-The rights holder of a film selected for the festival authorises the free use of the attached texts and photographs for the purposes of promoting the festival.
-The rights holder of a film selected for the festival authorises the festival organisers to show excerpts from the film (maximum 3 minutes) on any medium or media without paying royalties. Excerpts from the film may be broadcast on television or the internet to promote the festival.
List of promotional items required for each film submission:
• 4 photos from the film for the web (JPEG format, with copyright);
• 4 HD photos from the film for printing (JPEG - HD 300 DPI, with copyright);
• Summary of the film in French or English, as applicable (maximum 360 characters, including spaces);
• Biography and filmography for each member of the production team;
• 1 portrait photo for each member of the production team (JPEG);
• Subtitles (SRT).
Other optional items requested:
• 1 film trailer. Format: Apple ProRes 422 1920x1080 pixels – 24, 25 or 30 is);
• Film presentation or production file (PDF);
If you are missing any information or have any questions about this section, please contact us: communication.festivalmenigoute@gmail.com
Subtitling of foreign short films
Foreign short films are presented in their original language with subtitles. If subtitles do not exist, the festival organisers will arrange for them to be created by their teams.
In order to provide subtitles, please send:
• The full texts corresponding to the dialogues and commentary with time codes (please specify the number of male and female speakers on the scripts) in English if the original language is not English.
Article 6. VIDEO LIBRARY
A copy of the films screened in competition will be kept for the festival's video library. These films may be viewed for educational purposes in private or school screenings only. As the rights holder is the owner of the film, the festival must request their written authorisation for any transmission of the file to other broadcasting organisations or festivals that may request it.
Article 7. PROGRAMMING
The festival organisers reserve the right to modify the programme and the screening location of the films in competition if they so wish.
Article 8. INVITATION TO ATTEND THE FESTIVAL
The festival organisers invite the film's production team to come and present their film during the event and will arrange accommodation under the following conditions:
• • The festival organisers will not cover the film crews' train or plane travel expenses. Only transport organised by the festival between Poitiers station and airport will be covered by the festival;
• The organisation will cover accommodation and meals for one member of the film's production team accompanied by a person of their choice, for a maximum of two nights, on the days when their film is screened;
• Any additional nights booked will be at the expense of the production team members and must be paid for directly to the festival.
• After confirmation of guests, any cancellation 24 hours before the first night will be charged to the festival. However, after this deadline, if guests make their own accommodation arrangements without notifying the festival organisation of the cancellation of the reserved rooms, the cancellation fees will be charged to the production teams and must be paid directly to the festival.
Article 9. COMPETITION AND AWARD-WINNING FILMS
The competition takes place during the festival's public screenings. The jury is appointed by the festival organisers and announced before the event. The jury's decision is final and it has complete discretion to award one or more additional prizes or to award only some of the prizes announced. The jury's decision is final.
The official announcement of the prizes awarded by the jury takes place in the main hall in Ménigoute on the eve of the last day of the festival. On this occasion, the team behind the winning film is invited to come on stage to receive the trophy. The prize money is distributed equally among the various members of the production team.
These rules authorise the festival partners who finance the prizes to obtain a copy of the film in question for a private screening among their members. The film's rights holder will be notified of this transfer, which may be carried out by the festival organisation.
Article 10. PERSONAL DATA
All information provided by candidates may be used in connection with the organisation of the festival. However, in accordance with current European laws and directives and the European regulation in force since 2018 on information technology, files and freedoms, the protection of personal data and the free movement of such data, candidates have the right to object to, access and rectify data concerning them.
Consequently, all candidates have the right to access, query, object to, rectify and delete data concerning them by simply sending a request to the following address: communication.festivalmenigoute@gmail.com
None of the information provided may be used for commercial purposes.
Article 11. APPLICATION OF THE RULES
All applications submitted to the festival imply unconditional acceptance of these rules. In the event of any dispute over the meaning of the provisions of these rules, only the French text shall be deemed authentic.
