CLERMONT FERRAND INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL KICKED OFF

USPA NEWS - The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is the most important short film event in the world. Masterpieces of animation, comedies, films on contemporary reality, genre films, student projects from the best schools in the world, real and fake documentaries… The Festival began in 1979 as part of a student film club and immediately took off. In 2020, it welcomed over 3,600 professionals from all over the world and totaled over 172,000 admissions. Th cinematographic French event is held in Auvergne on of the most praised region of France, in the middle of the French Vulcans, and the deep countryside, down the peaks of the mountains. The selections comprising the seventy programs in this year’s Festival critically bring together the worlds of filmmakers of all stripes. Between the competitions and retrospectives, there are 400 hundred films from fifty countries that offer a formidable dive into a refreshing pool of young cinematic talent. This year the Clermont Short Film Festival has a focus on Taiwan, with Yi Yi spotlight on Taiwan! In all, there are 8 programs, across all categories, inviting us to explore this key country in the world of filmmaking.

The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is the most important short film event in the world. Masterpieces of animation, comedies, films on contemporary reality, genre films, student projects from the best schools in the world, real and fake documentaries… The Festival began in 1979 as part of a student film club and immediately took off. In 2020, it welcomed over 3,600 professionals from all over the world and totaled over 172,000 admissions. Th cinematographic French event is held in Auvergne on of the most praised region of France, in the middle of the French Vulcans, and the deep countryside, down the peaks of the mountains. The selections comprising the seventy programs in this year’s Festival critically bring together the worlds of filmmakers of all stripes. Between the competitions and retrospectives, there are 400 hundred films from fifty countries that offer a formidable dive into a refreshing pool of young cinematic talent. This year the Clermont Short Film Festival has a focus on Taiwan, with Yi Yi spotlight on Taiwan! In all, there are 8 programs, across all categories, inviting us to explore this key country in the world of filmmaking. Libido is the theme focus of this year . These 4 programs invite the guests to take a journey inwards to reveal a part of our private selves that we may or may not pay attention to. A forward tracking shot on the awakening of sensuality in desire, secret, intimate pleasures, far from taboos and prejudices. The programs of films include the 3 competitions, the young audience programs (E, EVAC, ECO, SCO) and the out-of-competition programs (Pop-Up, African perspectives, Regional Showcase). For decades, the aficionados, and cinema’s passionate are gathering in this green cocoon, Auvergne Region, that has a lot to offer, amongst the famous Saint Nectaire Cheese, and other traditional specialties, seeking also the thirty monetary prizes totalling over €150.000 are awarded to the winners in the different sections. The happy few, will meet up the members of the jury 2023 for the various jurys either public, or with TV Partners, such as CANAL Plus, TV French TV Broadcaster, and CINE Plus.

INCLUSION IS TO BE IMPLEMENTED FOR THE DISABLED
In term of Inclusion, the Clermond Ferrand International Short Ilm Festival dedicated a space and specific Jurdy to the Best Queer Short Award, comprised of Hugo Bardin/Paloma, Jean Costa , Rebeka Warrior, and also a Pop -Up Jury, made up of film professionals and web creators, will award the YouTube Award for Best Live Action Short to one of the five films selected in the Pop-Up programme, including Aude Gogny-Goubert, Martin Jauvat and Alexandre Marinelli, as member of the jury. However, when it comes to social inclusion, disability is totally missing, knowing that the disabled people are much more interested in doing, and or contritbuting to the short movies, and representing 15% of the French population, This big lack is obvious and seems even unfair, compared to the great importance allowed to some other minorities…
Not only the comedians, are including the disabled, on screen, but they are also not very much seen in the various jurys….
After three decades of showcasing their international compassion, (for 35 years), Clermond Ferrand, International short film festival should take this lack into account, for their next editions

NATIONAL JURY
Bastien Dubois, Alain Guiraudie, Claude Le Pape, Rabah Nait Oufella, Fanny Sidney

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT JURY
Cristel Alves Meire, Lionel Baier, Julie Bertuccelli, Ho Wi DIng, Stacey Rozich

LAB JURY
Ivete, Lucas, Valerie Mrejen, Wu Ke-Xi

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT JURY
Emma Bernal, Daniel Keromnes,Cleeste Ledu, Amos Levin, Timothe Perrier,

LAB STUDENT JURY
Céleste Chervin, Gahé Daubercies, Carla Santin, Sofia Yevlaninkova
Not to mention the Audience Jury, who have also the power of choosing their favorite short films, by voting o before the deadline of n Friday 3rd February at noon.

AUDIENCE JURY
Festival-goers can have their say in conferring an Audience Award for the National, International and Lab Competitions respectively. The Audience Jury consists of viewers who have bought a booklet of fifteen tickets either through the site billetterie.clermont-filmfest.org or at the box office and have provided their email address.
The email address used for purchasing the tickets gives the viewer one chance only to vote online for:
• one of the 56 short films selected for the National Competition
• one of the 78 short films selected for the International Competition (the two French films have also been included here)
• one of the 25 short films selected for the Lab Competition
This is the exclusive link for voting: vote.clermont-filmfest.org
Voting ends: Friday 3 February 2023 at 12 noon.

CLERMONT AUVERGNE UNIVERSITY Clermont Auvergne University is very proud to carry the International Student Jury Prize. This initiative complements the recurring actions that bind us to the festival : projection of films in Agnès Verda auditorium, pedagocical activities and tutored projects proposed in the studies and linked to the festival activities. The student jury allows ten students to participate in a collective experience and act for this international cultural event. Clermont Auvergne University is a public institution of higher education. It brings together more than 40,000 students - about 33% of whom are international students - who come to study among the 250 courses offered. www.uca.fr THE CNOUS, CROUS CLERMONT AUVERGNE Crous is a long-time partner of the festival. At the beginning of this event, it hosted the first "short film weeks" organized by the Cercle Cinématographique Universitaire de Clermont-Ferrand. The Cnous and Crous Clermont Auvergne, already organizes the short film student contest and will allow students to attend and be essential actors of the festival by awarding national student jury the prize. The Cnous (National Center for Academic and Academic Works) and the Crous Clermont Auvergne, state public institutions under the supervision of the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research, have as their mission to promote the living and working conditions of the students. www.crous-clermont.fr CLERMONT-FERRAND SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS This year, the Festival has teamed up with the greater Clermont-Ferrand high school for the arts (ESACM) to pave the way for the second student jury for the Lab competition. This collaboration is part of our on-going partnership over the years and highlights how much the Lab programs have in common with the audio-visual teaching offered by the region’s arts high schools. www.esacm.fr