79th Festival de Cannes Unveils Short Film and La Cinef Selections
Share This Article
Cannes, France – The 79th Festival de Cannes has announced the official selections for its prestigious Short Films Competition and La Cinef section, highlighting emerging talent and diverse cinematic voices from around the globe. This year’s festival promises a compelling showcase of short-form storytelling, culminating in the awarding of the Short Film Palme d’or and La Cinef Prizes.
The Short Films Competition
From an impressive pool of 3,184 submissions, 10 short films have been selected to compete for the Short Film Palme d’or. These films represent productions and co-productions from 136 countries, underscoring the international scope and appeal of the festival. The highly anticipated Short Film Palme d’or will be presented on Saturday, May 23rd, during the closing awards ceremony of the 79th Festival de Cannes.
Selected Short Films:
| Title | Director | Duration |
| FRESH CUT | Hadrien BELS | 15’ |
| THE LAST SPRING | Mathilde BEDOUET | 15’ |
| SISTERS’ SWIM | Lola DEGOVE | 15’ |
| THE END | Niki LINDROTH VON BAHR | 15’ |
| PARA LOS CONTRINCANTES (For the Opponents) | Federico LUIS | 15’ |
| PELOTON TRUENO (Thunder Platoon) | Theo MONTOYA | 15’ |
| GIẤC MƠ LÀ ỐC SÊN (The Dream is a Snail) | Thien AN NGUYEN | 15’ |
| ALGUMAS COISAS QUE ACONTECEM AO LADO DE UM RIO (A Few Things Happening by a River) | Daniel SOARES | 14’ |
| SPIRITUS SANCTUS | Michal TOCZEK | 15’ |
| NIKO NIŠTA NIJE REKAO (Nobody Said Anything) | Tamara TODOROVIĆ | 15’ |
La Cinef Selection
Now in its 29th edition, La Cinef has chosen 19 films—comprising 14 live-action and 5 animated shorts—from a total of 2,750 submissions sent by film schools worldwide. These selections were directed by 12 women and 9 men, representing fifteen countries and four continents.
Notably, Hongik University (South Korea) and ISAMM (Tunisia) are participating for the first time in La Cinef. The La Cinef Prizes will be awarded by the jury on Thursday, May 21st, at a ceremony held in the Buñuel Theatre, followed by a screening of the winning films.
Selected La Cinef Films:
| Title | Director | School – Country | Duration |
| LASER-GATO (Laser-Cat) | Lucas ACHER | NYU – USA | 22’ |
| PHOTOGRAPH OF AN INSANE WOMAN TO SHOW THE CONDITION OF HER HAIR | Arwen AZNAG | LUCA School of Arts Brussels – Belgium | 6’ |
| TÚ, YO Y LA VACA (Me, You and the Cow) | Aina CALLEJÓN | ESCAC – Spain | 20’ |
| PICKLED | Fanny CAPU | NFTS – United Kingdom | 9’ |
| BIRD RHAPSODY | Wonjung CHOI | Hongik University – South Korea | 6’ |
| ALWAYS WANTED TO BE GOD, NEVER WANTED TO BE GOOD | Noa EPARS & Marvin MERKEL | HEAD – Switzerland | 21’ |
| PREKO PRAGA (Over the Threshold) | Tara GAJOVIĆ | FDU – Serbia | 15’ |
| GROWING STONES, FLYING PAPERS | Roozbeh GEZERSEH & Soraya SHAMSI | Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf – Germany | 12’ |
| SUNDAY’S CHILDREN | Reuben HAMLYN | NYU – USA | 19’ |
| SOMEWHERE I BELONG | Youssef HANDOUSE | ISAMM – Tunisia | 21’ |
| SILENT VOICES | Nadine Misong JIN | Columbia University – USA | 17’ |
| TRAKCJE (Axles) | Jakub KRZYSZPIN | The Polish National Film School in Łódź – Poland | 7’ |
| ALDRIG NOK (Never Enough) | Julius LAGOUTTE LARSEN | La Fémis – France | 25’ |
| TIAN TIAN DE MI MI (Our Secrets) | Lenti LIANG | USC Cinematic Arts – USA | 15’ |
| SHADOWS OF THE MOONLESS NIGHTS | Mehar MALHOTRA | FTII – India | 24’ |
| TJ28 (28 Days Left) | Yasmin NAJJAR | Aalto University – Finland | 24’ |
| LEFT BEHIND, STILL STANDING | Vida SKERK | NFTS – United Kingdom | 22’ |
| ONDE NASCEM OS PIRILAMPOS (Where Fireflies Sparkle) | Clara VIEIRA | ESTC – Portugal | 18’ |
| WILL IT RAIN AGAIN TODAY | WONG Chau-Hong | Nihon University College of Art – Japan | 16’ |
This year’s selections underscore the Festival de Cannes’ ongoing commitment to discovering and promoting new cinematic talent, offering a platform for both established and emerging filmmakers to share their visions with a global audience.