Silhouette Festival Regulations
ORGANISATION
The Silhouette Festival is organized by the Silhouette Association (hereinafter referred to as “Silhouette”), a non-profit organization responsible, among other duties, for selecting the Festival program and competition films. The Silhouette Festival aims to showcase and promote short films to a wide audience. Screenings (both outdoor and indoor) are free of charge. The 24th edition of the Festival will take place in Paris, France, from August 28 to September 5, 2026.
SUBMISSION CONDITIONS
The Festival is open to all short-film directors and producers, regardless of their country of origin. All shooting formats are accepted. Accepted screening files are high-definition files (Apple ProRes 422). If the film is selected, a clean copy of the film without subtitles must be provided (preview copies must include English or French subtitles). Films must not exceed 59 minutes in length, except for documentary films, which must not exceed 45 minutes. The submission deadline is March 13, 2026. Submission requires an entry fee and must be completed online. Submitting a film implies acceptance of these terms.
SELECTION PROCESS
The selection committee is composed of Silhouette’s programmers, responsible for selecting the films (International Selection, Official Competition, and parallel programs). Each submitted film is viewed by the committee. Applicants will be notified of their film’s selection in June. The final selection form must be completed, signed, and returned to the Festival on time for the film to be officially selected. If selected, please provide the format you indicated during submission. The final selection is confirmed only once the availability of a screening file is validated by the Festival. If selected, the screening format indicated during submission must be respected (Apple ProRes 422 without subtitles). The Festival reserves the right to withdraw a film from the selection if circumstances arise that do not comply with our guidelines or values. The Festival selection will be announced on June 22, 2026 on the Silhouette Festival website and on our social media (Facebook and Instagram).
SCREENING PROCESS
Screening copies of selected films must be sent to the Festival office before July 6, 2026 for films already subtitled in French, and before June 29, 2026 for films that still need to be subtitled in French. Shipping costs for sending the films are the responsibility of the participants for standard delivery. Return shipping costs are covered by the Silhouette Festival. At least three high-resolution still images (JPEG, 300 DPI) must be emailed to the Festival. No defective copy will be accepted for Festival screenings. Applicants requiring special handling of their copies must inform the Festival when sending the material. For foreign-language films, Silhouette will cover the cost of adding French subtitles for films received without subtitles. Apart from any payments due to rights management organizations (if applicable), screenings of selected films are not remunerated. The Festival’s insurance for the films takes effect upon delivery of the copy to the Festival office and continues until they are handed over to the transport company for return shipping. In case of damage or loss, the Festival’s liability cannot exceed the cost of producing a new copy of the film, based on the net price according to production-country standards. In the event of a major issue, Silhouette reserves the right to cancel the event without compensation.
PROMOTION OF THE FESTIVAL AND THE FILMS
Rights holders grant Silhouette, free of charge, the right to reproduce excerpts of the films (limited to 10% of the film’s duration and not exceeding 3 minutes), still images, synopses, and/or any other text related to their films for promotional purposes, on any platform or media, including press and the Internet. Producers also guarantee that they have the legal authority to grant these rights and have secured all rights related to the films (including but not limited to music). To promote the Festival’s Official Selection, awarded films may be screened until May 31, 2027, up to a maximum of three screenings. Rights holders will be informed of each screening. Rights holders authorize Silhouette to retain the screening copy previously provided for Festival screenings.
AWARDS
All films screened outdoors are part of the International Selection and therefore compete for the Audience Awards. Films in the Official Competition are chosen from the International Selection and the parallel program. These films compete for the Jury Awards and the Young Jury Award. Awards are granted to the filmmakers of the winning films and cannot be transferred to third parties. A confirmation email will be sent in July specifying the section(s) in which the film will be presented and details about the awards. Award-winning films are encouraged to use this label for promotional purposes: “[Name of Award] – Silhouette 2026”.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The signatory of this document certifies full ownership of the rights granted above for the submitted film in accordance with these regulations and acknowledges that Silhouette is not responsible for any claims or expenses requested by third parties regarding these rights. Silhouette is granted the right to add French subtitles to the film, if necessary.
ARCHIVES
To build a resource center for short films, located in our offices and accessible only to Silhouette members or videotheque users, submitted films will be archived and may be transferred to a new format for better preservation (digitization or copying). Silhouette may also use the films for educational and non-commercial purposes.
REGISTRATION CONDITIONS
Submitting a film to the Festival and participating in the Festival implies full and unconditional acceptance of the above terms.
