The Paris Ciné Fantastique association, in partnership with Mad Movies magazine, has created an ambitious festival, able to meet the expectations of the public, the filmmakers and the press: the PIFFF (Paris International Fantastic Film Festival).

Featuring an international selection of feature films and short films, the Paris International Fantastic Film Festival highlights the future talents of genre cinema, and offers the latest works from the best film makers in the business.

The programme offers all you can get from genre cinema: science fiction, horror, fantasy, thriller ... The « genre » is fully represented, for the sake of eclecticism and openness, discovery and sharing. Any fictional feature of short that is strange, fantasy, horror or science fiction is admitted. Advertising, documentary and institutional films are not admitted.

PIFFF 2024 will be held from December 2024. Screenings take place at the Max Linder Panorama located at 24 Boulevard Poissonnière, 75009 Paris

Please see below for details on submitting your film, links to submit, and FAQs.

Several prizes are awarded at PIFFF.

First of all, the french channel CINE+FRISSONS awards a prize to a feature film and a French short which can be broadcast on the channel.

MAD MOVIES, the french cult magazine about genre cinema, gives a readers' prize to a feature film.

SHADOWZ, the streaming platform specializing in horror, awards a prize to an international short film which will have the chance to be broadcast on their platform.

A jury of movie's industry personalities rewards a French short film.

And last but not least, the public gives its own prize, the Golden Eye. Spectators vote at the end of each screening for films and shorts in competition.

1) Submission guidelines

Eligibility Requirements for the feature film and international and French short film competition (jury and audience award):

- Running time for all feature films must between 70 and 180 minutes.
- Running time for international shorts must be less than 20 minutes.
- Running time for French shorts must be less than 30 minutes.
- The competition is open to films produced in 2022 to 2024.
- Selected films must be made available in a 35mm composite print, Bluray, or DCP.
- If the spoken language is not English or French, there must be English or French subtitles.
- Acceptable screening format is an online screener. We do not accept hardcopy screeners.
- If submitting more than one film, a separate completed entry is required for each title.
- The screening of a selected film can not be canceled by the claimant.
- If the film has not been screened in France by the time of the submission, and happens to be selected for a festival in France between the submission and the selection announcement, the contributor commits himself to inform the PIFFF's selection committee.
- If the film is not available for public viewing on the internet by the time of the submission, and happens to be made available between the submission and the selection announcement, the contributor commits himself to inform the PIFFF's selection committee.

2) Feature film deadlines

- Film reception deadline: October 31st, 2024
- Selection announcement: November 4th, 2024

3) Short film deadlines

- Film reception deadline: October 31st, 2024
- Selection announcement: November 4th, 2024

4) Screening of your films

The person in charge will receive an email to announce the selection. The following items are then to be sent before November 17th 2024:

- 6 HD Stills
- The movie poster in HD
- The dialog list
- The press kit (if there is any)
- The print

Visual elements (photos and poster) and a copy of the short film, if it is selected (in competition or out of competition) must be received before November 17th 2024 to avoid a cancellation at the selection.

5) Technical informations

Screening format is DCP or digital video file (send at the expenses of the contributor, return at the expenses of the festival). The master need to be sent before November 17th 2024.
(Not needed to sending both, only one of these is required).

Digital video files :
- Accepted files: MOV (Quicktime)

- Resolution: A original shooting resolution is preferred.
HD : 1920x1080p
UHD : 3840x2160p
2K-DCI : 1998x1080p or 2048x858p
4K-DCI : 3996x2160p or 4096x1716p
- Compression requested:
Apple ProRes 422 LT
Apple ProRes 422 HQ
Apple ProRes 4444 or XQ
DNX HD 185
- Frame rate: 23,976 fps, 24p or 25p
- Type fields: Progressive only (Interlaced file will be rejected).
- Sound: PCM Audio 24bit 48Khz 7.1, 5.1 or stereo.
- Subtitles: SRT file, STL file (EBU/N19), or XML in DCI Subtitles 1.0

DCP :
We only accept unencrypted InterOp DCP in format:
- 2K-DCI : 1998x1080p ou 2048x858p
- 4K-DCI : 3996x2160p ou 4096x1716p

We will not screened a DCP in SMPTE specification.

6) Directors attendance

For features : Travel costs and one night in a four stars hotel for of the participants will be provided by the festival if you are located in Europe. If not, the plane tickets are at your cost but the festival provide you two nights in a four stars hotel.

For shorts : Travel costs and accommodation of the participants will not be provided by the festival. However, the selected shorts' directors will enjoy a pass for every screenings during the festival, if they are attending.

7) Insurances

The festival will not purchase any insurance for the loss, the theft or the damage of the selected films' copies, whether during their carriage, storage or screening.

8) Copyright and legal requirements

The director, the producer or the person in charge commit themselves to owning the music rights, the film rights and the text rights of the works appearing in the selected film. Otherwise, the festival's liability could not be upheld.

Any dispute concerning this regulation and its interpretation should be held before Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance.

9) Exploitation

Participants allow Paris International Fantastic Film Festival to perform screenshots for promotional purposes, whether of the film or the festival. They also graciously allow Paris International Fantastic Film Festival to reproduce a sample, not exceeding 2 minutes, and that can be broadcast for promotional purposes on television or on the internet; or that can be used to create a teaser.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Superbe expérience, une équipe et une sélection de films merveilleuse! Merci d'avoir sélectionné mon court métrage INSIDE YOU.

    April 2024
  • We were delighted that our short film client Cruel Sea played to an international audience here! There are a lot of genre festivals out there, and this is one of the good ones.

    March 2024
  • JS Bernard

    Another fantastic edition. An amazing opening film. An original, unprecedented selection, whether in feature or short films. Thank you!

    December 2023
  • Best movie genre festival in France and maybe in the world, Real communication with organisators, REAL screenings on the best/biggest screen in Paris with the BEST sound ever, for every filmmaker who wants to make movies for the big screen, VIVE LE PIFFF !

    December 2022
  • Nicolas Millot

    The PIFFF is my favorite festival in Paris, incredible venue and atmosphere, a must for fantastic and horror film lovers. It was a true honor to be a part of it

    December 2022