Regard – Saguenay International Short Film Festival is devoted exclusively to short films. Founded in 1995 in Saguenay, Quebec, and produced by Caravane Films Productions, it screens around 200 Quebec and international shorts of all genres, mainly in the Chicoutimi and Jonquière boroughs. Its Grand Prize and Canadian Grand Prize qualify films for the Academy Awards in the short film categories, and critics' juries of FIPRESCI and the Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma (AQCC) give their own awards.
Besides the Official Competition, a Focus Competition highlights self-produced Quebec work, filmmakers from regions outside Montreal, queer stories, Latin American films and Indigenous voices, while a Youth Competition reaches families and schools. The Short Film Market, launched in 2004, offers professionals workshops, panels, master classes and networking. The dates of the 31st edition are 17–21 March 2027.
Awards and prizes
Official Competition: Grand Prize (Oscar qualifying), Canadian Grand Prize (Oscar qualifying), Jury Award, Best Animation Short Film Award, Best Documentary Short Film Award, Quebec Critic Award AQCC (international shorts), International FIPRESCI Critics Award (Canadian shorts), Public Award. Focus Competition: Shoot No Matter What Award, Philippe-Belley Award (100% Regions), Alanis-Obomsawin Award (Indigenous Perspectives), Short & Queer Award, Americana Award. Youth Competition: Best Youth Short Film Award, Best Quebec Youth Short Film Award. More than CAD 120,000 in cash and services are awarded to the winners each year.
Festival rules
Short films of 40 minutes or less are eligible, in all genres: fiction, animation, documentary and experimental. Student productions are eligible in all sections. Films of a mainly promotional or didactic nature are not accepted. Priority goes to films that have not been made available online for free and to premieres. For the Official Competition, only films completed in the current two-year window (2026–2027 for the 31st edition) are accepted, and films submitted to Regard in previous years are not considered. Only world, North American and Canadian premieres are eligible for the Grand Prize and the Canadian Grand Prize. The Focus Competition has its own conditions: Shoot No Matter What is for independent Quebec shorts made without institutional funding; 100% Regions requires a key creative based outside Montreal; Indigenous Perspectives requires a key creative from an Indigenous community; Short & Queer is for films about LGBTQIA2S+ realities; Americana is for films produced or directed in Central and South America. Submissions are made online with a fee; Indigenous creators can request a free submission code. Selected films are screened from Apple ProRes 422 HQ copies without burnt-in subtitles, with an .srt file in French and/or English. The festival pays screening rights for Canadian films and for films in school screenings, and covers accommodation for filmmakers of selected films.
