Clermont-Ferrand has become a buzzing hive of excitement and activity this weekend as the International Short Film Festival raised its curtains on Friday... the world's largest festival dedicated to the short format and the second largest film festival in France after Cannes.
After a 2021 online festival, organisers are keen to welcome back the public, students and professionals for the week-long face-to-face event, which kicked off on Friday evening and runs until 5 February.
The festival’s objective is to reach the widest possible audience with a jam-packed programme bursting with things to see and do - both at the screenings and at the parallel festival activities.
“It’s not about the latest films, or flashy premières,” Tim Redford, one of the coordinators of the international competition told RFI.
“It’s about diversity,” and shining a light on countries with smaller production levels to “give them a boost,” he explains.
The idea is for the audience to “travel” in a virtual manner of speaking, “and enjoy themselves”.
“We put in films from different continents, and different genres, so they get a feel for what’s happening all around the world,” he says.
55 countries represented
The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival also prides itself on its professional market, which has gone from strength to strength over the last 40 years, providing a springboard for films to be picked-up by other international festivals and competitions.
Organisers receive up to 9,000 films on average a year, and they somehow manage to whittle it down to around 1 percent.
An entire year is spent building the festival’s rich programme, which is divided into several categories, each with their own jury.
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The selection team have put forward 77 films for the International competition this year; 15 live action films, 16 animation and 10 documentaries.
84 directors from 55 countries are represented.
Redford says the Covid pandemic has left its mark on short film production over the past couple of years.
Production dropped-off worldwide during the pandemice, but was particularly noticeable with regard to short films from the African continent, from which they only received around half the usual number of entries.
The African Perspectives section features 10 films, and four in competition, coming from 9 different countries with a notably strong participation from Egypt.
Poolside cinema?
The festival is just the “tip of the iceberg” Redford says, referring to the many activities and missions conducted all year long by the collective “Sauve qui peut le court métrage”. There are a number of art and photo exhibitions, performances and conferences and on some occasions screenings from the bouyant comfort of an inflatable seat at a municipal pool.
Much of the energy is certainly to be generated from the fact that the city of Clermont-Ferrand hosts some 35,000 students, a fifth of its population.
Ever since its creation by students in 1979, the festival has fostered a strong partnership with the University of Clermont-Auvergne and other art schools, developing a wide range of initiatives for young people interested in the film industry, including L’Atelier where students make a film in the space of a week.
¡Viva España!
This year’s country of honour is Spain, and Redford has spent the last two years combing the archives. From some 400 films, the team got the “best-of” list down to 28 to be shown to the public over the next week.
On top of the screenings there are various activities to highlight Spanish culture, from food events, to meet and greet sessions with directors and crews.
What does he think is the Spanish touch? “They are great filmmakers,” he says enthusiastically. Most of the films the team chose for the retrospective are narrative fictions, one of the country’s strengths.
“The Spanish are very strong on films with a social aspect, with strong acting, they have fantastic film and directing schools. Comedy is well represented here, as are fantasy and horror genres.”
So what will the Jury be looking out for as they feast their eyes on the talents of today in order to select one of this year’s coveted trophies known as ‘Vercingetorix’?
“For me, a good short is based on the strength of its idea. Just as a feature film needs lots of ideas to keep the viewer’s interest, a short film needs to be like a punch,” filmmaker and jury member Borja Cobeaga, from Spain told festival organisers.
“I like the challenge of telling a complicated story in a short amount of time,” Joanna Quinn, British animation film director and jury member says, adding “and if it’s abstract, then it needs to be exceptionally beautiful!”
In any case, both are looking forward to a sense of 'normality' after the two year rollercoaster ride that Covid has been for the industry and seeing cinema-goers' smiling faces - in person.
