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.
188 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Oleg Stepnoy

    Only great experience. Cannes New Waves online event was well and smoothly organised. Very glad to be semifinalist with my film.

    June 2025
    Helpful
  • Travis Jeffery

    Really grateful to have Dusty selected for Cannes Indie Shorts Awards Virtual Event. The online platform was smooth, easy to navigate, and gave our film a great space to be seen.

    The communication from the team was super clear and supportive the whole way through. You can tell they genuinely care about showcasing meaningful work. Thanks so much for having us!

    June 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Travis, Thank you so much for your kind words!
    We were truly happy to have Dusty as part of the Virtual Edition of the Cannes Indie Shorts Awards.

    It’s wonderful to hear that the platform worked well for you and that you felt supported throughout the process. We deeply value meaningful work and are grateful to have had the chance to showcase yours.

    Thanks again for being part of this edition—we hope to see you back with future projects!

  • Алексей Митягин

    I sincerely thank the organizing team of the INDIE SHORTS AWARDS CANNES Film Festival for an amazing and eventful event. I was pleased and inspired by the wonderful works, which are imbued with the spirit of creativity, search and experiment. I am happy to be a part of this important film forum. I wish you all happiness, good luck and new discoveries in the world of cinema.

    June 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your beautiful message!
    We’re truly honored to have had GARBAGE as part of this edition of the Indie Shorts Awards Cannes.

    Your kind words mean a lot to us, and we’re so glad the festival experience inspired you. It’s filmmakers like you who bring creativity, passion, and purpose to this celebration of cinema.

    Wishing you continued success, joy, and discovery in all your future projects!

  • YuFeng Chiu

    It’s my honor to be part of the festival and awarded winners. Thank you for kindly giving me response and feedback,thank you so much.

    June 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your kind message YuFeng!
    It was a pleasure having you as part of the festival, and we’re truly happy to see your work recognized among the winners.

    We appreciate your dedication and look forward to seeing more of your creative journey!

  • GUI MERLINO

    We found Cannes Indie Shorts Awards an amazing opportunity to display our work and to have our film streamed online was incredible for so many to watch. I really recommend participating in this award, it's so worth it!

    June 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Gui, Thank you so much for your lovely feedback!
    We’re truly glad you found the Cannes Indie Shorts Awards a valuable platform to showcase your work, and that the online screening gave your film wider visibility.

    It means a lot to us that you recommend the experience, thank you for being part of it!