They have come through “Le Court”

The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is the world’s largest cinematic event dedicated to short films. Animated masterpieces, comedies, contemporary realities, genre films, graduation projects from the best film schools worldwide, documentaries – short films reveal their full richness and diversity in the heart of Auvergne during the depths of winter.

For nearly 50 years, the organizing association, Sauve qui peut le court métrage, has been committed to supporting the new generation of filmmakers – a mission made possible only with the collaboration of those who inspire us: directors, actors, producers, audiences, and loyal volunteers. Here is a non-exhaustive history of some of the great names who have passed through the “Le Court”.

The 2020’s

2024

On the occasion of the double focus on women in front of and behind the camera, this exceptional edition of the Festival featured all-female juries across the three competitions: National, International, and Lab.

The labo jury (left) included Charlotte Boudon (artistic director), Irène Drésel (musician, producer, singer-songwriter), and Vergine Keaton (director, visual artist).

The National Jury (center) featured Iris Brey (journalist, author, director), Aurélie Reinhorn (director, screenwriter), Sabrina Seyvecou (actress), and Sarah Saidan (director and animation screenwriter).

Finally, the International Jury (right) was composed of Kim Keukeleire (South Korean animator), Jihan El-Tahri (Egyptian journalist, writer, and director), Kukla (Slovenian director, composer, and performer), and Irene Moray (Spanish director, actress, and photographer).

2022

The National Jury was made up of four professionals: director Yassine Qnia, actor Olivier Broche, animation filmmaker and illustrator Regina Pessoa (who had the honor of creating the poster for the Festival’s 45th edition), and Vincent Maël Cardona, who received the César for Best First Film less than a month after his appearance at the festival for Les Magnétiques.

2023

For this edition, a star-studded National Jury was in Clermont-Ferrand to watch the 56 French short films: Bastien Dubois (animation filmmaker), Claude le Pape (screenwriter and director, notably worked on Petit Paysan by Hubert Charuel), Alain Guiraudie (director), Rabah Naït Oufella (actor), and Fanny Sidney (actress and director).

The 2023 Lab Grand Prize, awarded by Ivete Lucas, Valérie Mréjen, and Ke-Xi Wu, went to Yann Gonzalez (director of both short and feature films, including Knife + Heart and Les Rencontres d’après Minuit) for his film Hideous.

2021

For this exceptional year, as the festival was held entirely online, the International Jury was composed of directors Hefang Wei and Anthony Nti, actress and director Bérangère McNeese, producer Bertrand Faivre (of the production company Le Bureau: La Panthère des Neiges, Un pays qui se tient sage…), and Pascale Faure, programmer and long-time festival collaborator, pictured here with her honorary Vercingétorix award.

The 2010’s

2019

The National Jury was composed of Hubert Charuel (director), Céline Devaux (director), Dominique Reymond (actress), Vincent Macaigne (actor, director, and stage director), and Jackie Berroyer (actor, screenwriter, writer).

The Lab Jury included Bruno Nuytten (director, cinematographer), Jenn Nkiru (director), and Claire Denis (director, screenwriter). Claire Denis received the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix in 2022 for her film Stars at Noon.

2017

Les réalisateurs Benoît Delépine, Sébastien Betbeder et Olivier Babinet étaient au jury national accompagnés par Laurie Lévêque (comédienne) et Maud Alpi (réalisatrice).

Le réalisateur Ladj Ly (ici accompagné par une partie de son équipe) venait présenter son court métrage Les Misérables. Il a reçu le prix CANAL+, et réalisera quelques années plus tard le long métrage du même nom, qui recevra de nombreuses récompenses dont quatre César et le Prix du jury au festival de Cannes.

2015

Here’s a National Jury that saw the birth of some lasting friendships: alongside writer and director Christian Rouaud (Tous au Larzac), a young generation of artists came together, including Lyes Salem (actor, director, and screenwriter), Thomas Cailley (director and screenwriter of the acclaimed Le Règne animal), Claire Burger (whose latest feature Langue étrangère was released in 2024), and the rapper, writer, and director Abd Al Malik.

2013

Director Philippe Le Guay, often associated with Fabrice Luchini and known for films such as Les Femmes du 6e étage, was on the National Jury.

Benoît Forgeard, director and actor, served on the Lab Jury. Selected in 2019 with his film Yves at the Directors’ Fortnight, he had also directed Gaz de France. Audiences could see him act in Les Lézards, set in a hammam alongside Vincent Macaigne.

2018: The festival celebrates its 40th anniversary!

An actors’ masterclass was presented by Laurent Weil with four notable guests: Laurent Lucas, Philippe Rebbot, Franc Bruneau, and Laetitia Spigarelli.

The team from Jusqu’à la garde came to present the film in a preview screening, with Léa Drucker and Denis Menochet supporting director Xavier Legrand. The short film Avant que de tout perdre, which can be considered a prequel to the feature, had been a hit at Clermont-Ferrand, winning the Grand Prix, the Press Prize, the Student Prize, and the National Audience Award in 2013. The feature film went on to receive no fewer than five César Awards the following year.

2016

The National Jury brought together Philippe Faucon, director of Fatima (winner of three César Awards in 2016); filmmakers Guillaume Brac (director of numerous short and feature films, including À l’Abordage in 2020), Émilie Brisavoine (director of Pauline s’arrache), and Leyla Bouzid (director of Une histoire d’amour et de désir, presented at Cannes in 2021). Bottom right, the musician Dom La Nena, cello virtuoso, performing alongside Rosemary Standley (singer of Moriarty) since 2012 in Birds on Wire.

2014

Arthur Harari recevait le prix étudiant et une mention presse Télérama pour son film Peine perdue. Il réalisera par la suite les longs métrages Diamant noir (qui permit à Niels Schneider d’obtenir le César du meilleur espoir masculin), Onoda, qui a ouvert la sélection Un certain regard à Cannes en 2021 ou encore co-écrit avec Justine Triet le désormais culte Anatomie d’une chute.

2012

The young director Vincent Macaigne received the Grand Prize and the Télérama Press Award in the national competition, along with a special mention from the student jury for his first film Ce qu’il restera de nous.

He would later join the National Jury in 2019.

The 2000’s

2009

Action film director Olivier Megaton served on the national jury. After making numerous short films, he went on to work with Luc Besson on big-budget features, including several Taken films and Transporter 3.

2004

Israeli filmmaker and actress Hiam Abbas presented her film The Eternal Dance, which won the Procirep Production Award.
Actor and director Mathieu Amalric, meanwhile, made a notable appearance on the National Jury.

2000

Belgian actor and director Bouli Lanners was competing in the national section with Travellinckx.

The young and already inseparable directors Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano – who would later go on to make Those Happy Days, The Intouchables, and C’est la vie! – presented Les Petits Souliers.

2007

The multidisciplinary and unclassifiable artist Rosto, creator of Thee Wreckers Tetralogy and designer of the 2007 festival poster, served on the Labo jury. Jean-Marc Vallée, the multi-award-winning director of Dallas Buyers Club, was on the International Jury.

2002

Antonin Peretjatko, a prolific director moving between short and feature films, was selected in the National Competition with Rush Hour.

Jalil Lespert was also present, pictured below with his co-director Sébastien Dacek for Coffee and Dreams – two years after serving on the National Jury and just one year after receiving the César Award for Most Promising Actor for his role in Human Resources.

The 90’s

1998

Zinedine Soualem, a regular at the Short Film Festival, was a member of the National Jury. A longtime friend of the organizing team, he’s pictured here with Christian Denier.

1994

The young actress Claire Nebout, who had previously worked under the direction of André Téchiné, Claude Zidi, and Marco Bellocchio, was invited to join the National Jury.

In the National Competition, two future major filmmakers went head-to-head: Xavier Giannoli was presenting his first short film, Le Condamné, more than 25 years before releasing his seven-César-winning feature Lost Illusions.

Meanwhile, prolific screenwriter Gilles Marchand – who would go on to collaborate with Laurent Cantet, Dominik Moll, Valérie Donzelli, and Cédric Kahn – won the Grand Prix for Joyeux Noël.

1990

The eternal Antoine Doinel, a.k.a. Jean-Pierre Léaud – the quintessential actor of the French New Wave – served as a jury member alongside screenwriter Suzanne Schiffman (who also collaborated extensively with François Truffaut) and actor Gérard Desarthe.

1995

What a rich year for short films! On the jury side, filmmaker Tony Gatlif served on the International Competition, while the legendary actress Micheline Presle was part of the National Jury.

In the international competition, young Québécois filmmaker Denis Villeneuve presented his film REW FFWD.

But it was Danish director Thomas Vinterberg who won the Audience Award, along with a Special Jury Mention, for The Boy Who Walked Backwards. Two years later, he would direct Festen, which went on to win the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

The National Competition also featured some remarkable names.

François Ozon was back for the third time with his short film La Petite Mort.

Laurent Cantet came to present his now-cult Tous à la manif.

But it was Érick Zonca who took home the Grand Prix with Éternelles.

1992

The National Jury posed here: director Michel Such, actress Valérie Mairesse, actor Féodor Atkine, actress Agnès Soral, and illustrator Max Cabanes.

That same year saw the screening of Carne by Gaspar Noé, featuring Philippe Nahon (who won the Best Actor Award for his performance) and Blandine Lenoir (who would return several times as a director and later win the Best First Fiction Award for her short film Avec Marinette in 2000). The acting duo would reunite for the feature-length sequel I Stand Alone (Seul contre tous), Noé’s first feature film — already announcing the dark and violent tone of his future work.

Les années 80

1989

Patrick Bouchitey remportait le grand prix avec Lune froide, adapté de Bukowski et plus tard prolongé en long métrage.  

Jean-Pierre Kalfon était également de la partie, posant ici devant la grande affiche tel un guerrier brandissant son catalogue, il apparait dans le film Le Vampire et Le Lapin en compétition nationale.

1986

Le regretté Cyril Collard vint présenter son court métrage Alger la blanche en compétition nationale et remportait le prix du public et le prix CANAL+.

1983

Jean-Pierre Jeunet faisait partie du jury. Il revint en 1990 avec Foutaises (qui remportait alors le prix du public et le prix de la presse) : il expliquera plus tard que lors de la projection de son film en salle Jean-Cocteau, c’est en se retournant pour voir les réactions du public (quelque 1 300 personnes tout de même !) qu’il décida plus tard d’intégrer cette impression sous la forme d’une scène dans Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.

Il revient en 2017 avec son tout dernier court métrage Deux escargots s’en vont (coréalisé avec Romain Segaud) présenté en ouverture comme la montre la photo ci-dessous, Jean Pierre Jeunet est au centre sur le canapé surplombé par une photo du jury de 1983 sur laquelle on le reconnaît au premier rang.

1987

Le chorégraphe Philippe Découflé était compétition avec Caramba – accompagné par Christophe Salengro, futur président de Groland, qui revint d’ailleurs en 2012 pour jumeler la célèbre présipauté avec le festival international du court métrage de Clermont-Ferrand.

Le réalisateur Cédric Klapisch remportait le prix spécial du jury national (dont fait partie le comédien fétiche de Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Dominique Pinon) pour In Transit, récompense qu’il remportera également en 1990 avec Ce qui me meut, qui deviendra le nom de sa société de production.

1985

Le jeune comédien Tchéky Kario, qui avait déjà fait ses armes chez Chantal Akerman, Romain Goupil, René Allio ou Jacques Deray, fit un détour par Clermont-Ferrand au jury national (ici à droite sur la photo aux côtés des membres cofondateurs du festival Roger Gonin et Antoine Lopez).