The Festival du film court en plein air de Grenoble is organised by the Cinémathèque de Grenoble, which describes it as the oldest short film festival in France; it has been held since 1978. Screenings run in the Cinémathèque’s Cinéma Juliet Berto and, after nightfall, in the open air in the Jardin de Ville, with further sessions at partner venues such as Cinéma Le Club, Mon Ciné and Le Ciel.
The general competition brings together fiction, documentary, animation and experimental shorts by both established and emerging directors, and a separate competition is aimed at young audiences, from toddlers to teenagers. School screenings, round tables and an all-night short film marathon programmed by L’Agence du court métrage complete the programme. Since 2014 the festival has also hosted a script contest for a short series of five two-minute episodes, co-organised with GREC and backed by France Télévisions. The dates of the 49th edition are 25–27 June 2026.
Awards and prizes
Official jury (General Competition): Grand Prix, funded by the City of Grenoble; Director's Prize (Prix de la mise en scène); Best Script Prize. Juliet Berto Prize, awarded by the selection committee, the festival's historic prize, named after the Grenoble-born actress and director. Young Jury Prize; Mention Bref, given by L'Agence du court métrage and Bref Cinéma; Audience Award. Competition for Young Audiences: Young Audience Jury Prize and Young Audience Award. The 2026 regulations also list a UniFrance prize. Separately, the 5x2 jury chooses a short series script (five two-minute episodes); the winning series is produced by GREC with a France Télévisions pre-purchase for the programme Histoires courtes on France 2.
Festival rules
Open to French and international short films (fiction, animation, documentary, experimental) under 40 minutes including credits, completed recently (for the 2026 edition: after 1 March 2025). Advertising, corporate films and music videos are not accepted. Films already submitted to the selection committee cannot be submitted again, even in a new version. Submission is online via FilmFest Platform or Shortfilmdepot, on one platform only. Films can enter the General Competition or the Competition for Young Audiences; a film entered in the General Competition may be selected for the young audience competition. International films must be in French or subtitled in French. Selected films are screened only from DCP, provided by the production, and may be shown two to five times during the festival and in school screenings. Selected filmmakers may receive an expense allowance of 100 euros per film; directors of award-winning films are invited to the closing ceremony (travel up to 250 euros and one night's accommodation). Selection allows the organisers to broadcast extracts (up to 10% of the film, 3 minutes maximum), to screen the film at non-commercial events of the Cinémathèque for 24 months after the festival, and to make a preservation copy for its collection.
