We have recently learned about the selection of short films at the Clermont-Ferrand Festival, one of the most important festivals in the world and a benchmark for the industry.
The number of submissions received each year is a guide to understanding the state of short film production worldwide. All directors and producers aim to participate in the festival and be present in the market catalog.
This year, there were no less than 7,998 submissions, 220 more than last year, which received 7,778. Annual growth continues, and we are close to crossing the 8,000 submission mark.
The selected short films include 73 in the international competition, 30 in Labo, and 60 in the national competition. Considering that 6,173 submissions were received for the international sections alone, and only 103 short films were selected, the percentage does not even reach 2%.
These figures can give you an idea of how complicated it is to be selected and the difficulty of succeeding in the international distribution of short films.
I have compiled the submission statistics for the 25 countries with the highest number of submissions to the festival:
- France: 1,888 (includes the international and national sections, so this figure would be an estimate of annual production in France)
- United States: 773
- United Kingdom: 587
- Germany: 513
- Spain: 392
- South Korea: 350
- Canada: 345
- Italy: 255
- Brazil: 243
- Belgium: 213
- Australia: 181
- Russia: 169
- Israel: 146
- Switzerland: 148
- Sweden: 121
- Mexico: 118
- Poland: 115
- Netherlands: 116
- Colombia: 103
- China: 93
- Iran: 92
- Austria: 90
- Japan: 90
- India: 87
- Argentina: 86
Spain ranks a superb 5th. The next Spanish-speaking country we find is Mexico, with 118 short films submitted.
The selected Spanish short films are Como yo te amo, by Fernando García-Ruiz, Norte by Javier Garcia, and Decorado, by Alberto Vazquez, in Labo. The countries with the highest number of selections in the International Competition were the United States, with 9, the United Kingdom and Germany, both with 5, and France with 3.
In addition to Spain, this is the presence of Spanish-speaking countries in the International Competition and Labo, by country:
Argentina
La canoa de Ulises, by Diego Fló
Chile
Reo, by Mauricio Corco
The unnatural, by Marcos Sanchez (Labo)
Colombia
Como la primera vez, by Yennifer Uribe,
Genero, by Jesús Reyes and Andrés Porras
Killing Klaus Kinski, by Spiros Stathoulopolus (Labo)
Lupus, by Carlos Gomez Salamanca (Labo)
Cuba
Sana alegría, by Claudio Muñiz,
Mexico
Verde, by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Venezuela
Partir, by Maria Saavedra.
Good luck to all! Clermont-Ferrand has a significant impact on other festivals; being selected is already a prize in itself.