The festival is the largest European event focused on short films, and the Euro Connection co-production meeting annually selects 12 projects, offering them the opportunity to present in front of international film delegates, co-producers, and foreign partners. Additionally, 8 producers are selected for the Producers Focus program (usually producers of nominated but not selected projects), who will have the chance to participate in the forum and present their production company.

Eligible Projects:

You can submit a short film project that meets the following criteria:

• Short film (fiction, animation, creative documentary)
• Maximum length of 30 minutes
• The project has partial funding from a third party (national or regional fund, script development grant, TV station investment, foundation award, etc.). A contribution from a (co)producer is not considered third-party funding.
• The producer plans to create the film in an international co-production.
• Filming will not begin before June 2025.
• If selected, the producer must personally present the project (expenses covered by the event organizer).

Projects can be submitted through the Czech Film Center, which is a partner of the co-production forum and, therefore, has the right to nominate one project from the Czech Republic. The winning candidate who meets the participation conditions and submits the application within the deadline will be selected by an expert jury composed of representatives of the Czech film industry.

Contact: Vítězslav Chovanec, vitezslav@filmcenter.cz, +420 778 487 864

Application Deadline: October 20, 2024

How to Apply:

1. Complete the attached form in Czech or English (authors of the winning project will need to provide an application in English later).
2. Send it along with the following attachments to vitezslav@filmcenter.cz:

• Full script
• Director’s statement (motivation, artistic intent)
• Director’s biography and photo
• Proof of third-party funding
• Producer’s statement (motivation, strategy)
• Producer’s biography and photo
• Filmography and logo of the production company
• Video links of the director's previous films (if available) or other supporting materials (e.g., storyboard)

Euro Connection has reserved one spot for a project with a director from Ukraine. The project can be submitted by a production company based in Ukraine or any European country. Such projects have a separate application form available HERE.

XR Projects - The presentation of projects within Euro Connection will also include a section dedicated to XR, VR, and AR projects, where 4 projects will be selected that:

• Have a maximum length of 45 minutes
• Are produced by a company based in a European Union country
• Have secured at least partial third-party funding
• Will not begin production before June 2025
• Producers can submit their application via the form HERE.

The producer of the selected project will be invited to Clermont-Ferrand to personally present the project at the Euro Connection co-production forum. The invitation covers one person and includes travel expenses up to 160 EUR, 4 nights in a hotel with meals (February 2-6, 2025), and accreditation. Euro Connection also recommends that creators attend; they will receive free accreditation from the festival.

Producers Focus - 8 producers will be selected to present themselves and their production company on the Euro Connection platform. The festival team will select producers who were nominated by partner organizations but whose projects did not make it into the final selection. The invitation to Producers Focus includes 3 nights of paid accommodation (February 3-6, 2025), meal vouchers during the stay, free accreditation, and an invitation to the CNC networking cocktail.

Preliminary Program for Selected Participants:

• Online script consultations (December 2024)
• Pitch training in Clermont-Ferrand (February 3, 2025)
• Pitching at Euro Connection (February 4, 2025)
• Industry networking for participants and attending producers
• One-on-one business meetings (February 5, 2025)

As every year, the Czech Film Center will represent Czech short films at the Clermont-Ferrand film market in 2025, where it will also present and promote the new collection of Czech Short Films.

Participation in Euro Connection is free of charge. For detailed information, please refer to the attachment or contact us if you have any questions.

CLERMONT-FERRAND INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

January 31 – February 8, 2025

Film Submission Deadline: October 3, 2024

For more information about the festival and film submissions, click HERE. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the contacts below: