The Clermont-Ferrand short film festival unveils its tempting program

Tilda Swinton, Trần Anh Hùng, Slimane Dazi, Antonin Peretjatko, 500 films from more than 70 countries…

She played the main role in 2020 in Pedro Almodovar’s short film, The human voice. And it is as a narrator that we will find her this year at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Tilda Swinton lends her voice to the animated short film by Barry Gene Murphy and May Abdalla, Impulse Playing with Realitywhich depicts a world seen through the eyes of people with ADHD.

The 48th edition of the largest short film festival in the world will be held from January 30 to February 7 in the Auvergne city. On the program? 500 works of all genres, from more than 70 countries. But this year, it is South-East Asia which is in the spotlight through a focus, as well as a retrospective dedicated to the holidays. On the occasion of this geographical focus, the filmmaker Trần Anh Hùng (The Passion of Dodin Bouffant), originally from Viet Nam, and Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu (Tiger Stripes) are expected.

The Festival also revealed the identity of its juries. For the national competition, he is trained by screenwriter Delphine Agut, actor Slimane Dazi, composer Charlie Nguyen Kim, director Antonin Peretjatko and director Marion Vernoux. On the international side, Trần Anh Hùng will be accompanied in particular by the Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, in competition at Cannes in 2023 with Banel and Adama.

Interviewed by Varietyprogrammers Laura Thomasset and Julie Rousson defend a selection that reflects “today’s world”:

“Several films in the international competition express a desire for escape: from the Chinese worker looking for a glimmer of hope through his window in Out of Window, to the explorations of American and Singaporean heroes in the wilderness in the films When You Will Be Big And Buah”.

Since its first edition, the festival has put forward a committed, daring and varied program, advocating access to culture for all, in an independent spirit. Note that in the national competition, 43% of films are directed by women and 42% in the international competition. For comparison, the percentage of films directed by women at the last Cannes festival stood at 31%.

Last year the festival broke its record and had more than 173,500 entries, Clermont-Ferrand hopes to welcome even more festival-goers in 2026.

More information on the official event website

In the meantime, the short films can be found on the Arte platform and the France Télévisions and Canal+ channels, from January 25.