Our next Live Event will be held at CINÉMA OLYMPIA in the city of Cannes in NOVEMBER 2025

Over our last edition, our competition was honored to screen OSCAR Nominee KNIGHT OF FORTUNE, VENEZIA winner A SHORT TRIP, SUNDANCE winner THE MASTERPIECE, and also GOOD BOY, I'M NOT A ROBOT, UNDERDOGS, SHADOW BROTHER SUNDAY, THE HEART OF TEXAS, ROOM TAKEN, INFEMMES and so many more. We are aiming to discover new projects for this upcoming season.

Cannes Indie shorts Awards is an IMDb qualifying event recognized for being a home for new filmmakers that join us in a week live event full of masterclasses, industry professionals meet and greet, Q&A's at our interview point, filmmakers cocktails and USD 5500 in cash prizes in one of the biggest networking short film event. Awarded as one of the " 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee " by Moviemaker.

Outstanding directors and breathtaking casts were part of our latest editions, including: Harry Holland, Tom Holland, Lindsay Duncan, Ben Whishaw, Martin Strange-Hansen, Murad Abu Eisheh, Richard Fenwick, Zoel Aeschbacher, Emilie Pigeard, George Siougas.
Thoroughly enjoyed the new visions of directors like Tim Rogg, Victoria Neto, Nicholas Finegan, Paul Shammasian, Gregory JM Kasunich, Charles A Ullrich, Olivier Panier, Filip Tomczak, Noah Wyss Le Brocq, Hung Hsuan Hsu, Nicola Luciani, Janina Hüttenrauch, Sophia Wilson, Sam Brosnan, Guido Zanghi, Kaleb Mu, Kaleb Mu, Emma Emily Daelman, Danielle Jaeggi, Luke Langsdale, Tyler Fennyery, Abigail Porter Feavers, Rocco Ferrante, Jack Buyukyilmaz, Nicolas Fauconnet, Aurélien Sallé, Julia Augeard, Christian Deusel, Fleur Wilson, David Tessier, Ruben Van Leer, Jason Tran, David Thomas Whayman and so many more

No other city in Europe honors cinema the way Cannes does, living and breathing throughout the year under its gleaming lights. It is a unique and picturesque historic location alongside the French Riviera where you can experience the entirety of the fantastic film world. Since 1939, it has been THE city of cinema, where you can find not only an abundant amount of talent, but also incredible stars that are welcomed; without any doubt, it is the number-one international market for filmmakers.

We know the importance of having a full house cinema. This is why we are committed to promoting filmmaker’s projects. We consider each event an opportunity for networking with other artists and people from the industry. All our events are complementary for filmmakers and guests.

Aside from any result, by submitting your film you are entitled to 2 Admission Passes with full access to the 5-Day Live Event. This includes, not only the cocktails, but also any and all masterclasses, and all screening blocks and live performances.

Awards & Prizes

All our Official Selection films will receive the Official Laurel and will be screened at our 5-Day Annual Live Event.

Winners will be announced at the end of the event as well as the PRIX DU PUBLIC (cash prize of USD 1000, chosen by the audience), the GRAND PRIX (cash prize of USD 1500 ) and the PRIX DU MEILLEUR ESPOIR (cash prize of USD 1000 ). Winning films will receive their Certificate of Achievement.
In addition, we will choose a selection of outstanding projects as semi-finalists who will be invited to participate in our Virtual Event and compete for the CANNES NEW WAVES GRAND PRIX, a cash prize award of USD 1000. All semifinalist films will receive their corresponding Laurel.

OFFICIAL COMPETITIONS:

NARRATIVE SHORTS
FOREIGN SHORTS
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
ANIMATION SHORTS
NEW FILMMAKERS SHORTS
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS
STUDENT SHORTS
HORROR SHORTS
MUSIC VIDEOS
COMEDY SHORTS

TECHNICAL AND PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES
BEST PRODUCTION
BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR
BEST MALE DIRECTOR
BEST FEMALE STUDENT DIRECTOR
BEST MALE STUDENT DIRECTOR
BEST ACTRESS
BEST ACTOR
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST EDITING
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEST SOUND DESIGN
BEST SCREENWRITING

Rules & Terms

1- In order to submit a film, you must own the rights or have permission from the owner.
2- All fees are non-refundable.
3- The Festival relationship will exclusively be related to the film submitter.
4- Maximum length allowed is 40 minutes.
5- Any Foreign film that is not in English must have English subtitles.
6- INDIE SHORTS AWARDS CANNES will not be responsible for damaged copies.
7- A DCP copy will be requested for the live Events
8- DCP in English must have French subtitles.
DCP in French must have English subtitles.
DCP in other languages must have both English and French subtitles.
9- Not all the submissions are selected for the Official Competition. Our Judges are free to make their own choices and no answers will be given about not selected films.
10- INDIE SHORTS AWARDS CANNES can consider any film to be disqualified if the festival considers the content inappropriate. If you have any question regarding this decision you may contact us at our email address: info@cannesindieshortsawards.com
11- A fee is required for the official Competitions Submission. For payment structure visit FilmFreeway
12- Submitting your movie, you authorize INDIE SHORTS AWARDS CANNES to use, distribute and share the film poster, trailer, synopsis and movie stills in our social media.
13- The applicants (submitters) must accept INDIE SHORTS AWARD CANNES’ Rules and Terms.
14- When submitting your film, you are consenting to our Privacy Policy. We are committed to respecting each filmmaker's preferences. We might contact you through your email or social media provided in the submission page to communicate updates on your submission status, screening and DCP requirements, events ticket confirmation, as well as to provide information about events, services, promotions that we think you might be interested in. You can unsubscribe from any marketing or advertising newsletter from us or any partner festival simply by clicking unsubscribe.
Even when unsubscribing from a marketing newsletter, you can still receive any communication regarding your submission status through the FilmFreeway system. For more information about our associated event, please refer to cannesindieshortsawards.com. If you need further information, please contact us via cannes@indieshortsawards.com, and we will be happy to help you.
178 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Sofia Valiente

    The team at Cannes is cultivating a very special community of creative people-- it really shows that everyone involved is passionate about film and even more passionate about bringing people together at the cinema. At the start of each film block, the audience clapped and cheered in anticipation-- an incredible audience to debut a film to! The festival selection was ambitious with films that really challenge the norms of storytelling. They are serious about the short film form and they aren't afraid to take risks!

    December 2024
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    Response from festival:

    dear Sofia, Thank you for your thoughtful and encouraging feedback! It’s incredibly rewarding to hear that our passion for film and fostering a vibrant community shines through. We’re so glad you enjoyed the energy of the audience and the diversity of the films in our program.

    Supporting bold, boundary-pushing storytelling is at the heart of what we do, and it’s wonderful to hear that it resonated with you. We hope to welcome you back to future editions of the festival to experience more cinematic magic!

  • Aggressive TV

    This was a great festival, that really brought the community together! Would come out again in a heartbeat :)

    December 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the festival and felt a sense of community—it means the world to us. We’d be delighted to welcome you back in the future!

  • Ryan Doris

    This was the only festival where we participated as part of an online screening version. In general I prefer to avoid those because I really try to attend each fest, or at least have a representative from our project in attendance. To see your film play in front of a crowd and all the moments hit just right, there’s no bigger rush. Plus, right after the screening is when the real networking happens, in my opinion.

    So, we didn’t get that with this fest. That said, the selection of films featured online were both impressive and diverse. And it is always nice to be featured among great filmmakers. But, at least for the moment, I don’t feel like we gained much by being featured online.

    Overall, bummed we didn’t get invited to the in person festival. I’d certainly consider submitting again with my next movie as it was well run and all my questions were answered quickly.

    December 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Ryan, Thank you for sharing your thoughtful feedback. We completely understand the value of attending festivals in person and the unique experience that comes with being part of a live screening. While we’re sorry you missed that aspect, we’re glad to hear that you appreciated the quality and diversity of the films in the online selection. We truly value your participation and hope to welcome you in person at a future event. We’d love to see your next project, and we’re grateful for your kind words about our team and communication.

  • Simone Ling

    Wanted to express our thanks at inclusion and great communication; also for awarding us Best Short Documentary - a really wonderful and meaningful surprise.

    December 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your kind words, Simone! We’re thrilled to have included your film and are so happy to hear that receiving Best Short Documentary was a meaningful surprise. It was an honor to showcase your work, and we look forward to seeing more from you in the future!

  • Elena Saurel

    All round wonderful and delightful!

    December 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Elena for your review!!