31st CLERMONT-FERRAND INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
Musical and Netherlands...
January 30 - February 7, 2009


31st Edition: Safe as Houses
Coming up on its thirty-first edition, the Clermont-Ferrand film festival proves, once again, that short films are safe as houses. Whether you’re talking about our three competitions or the numerous panoramas and retrospectives, cut-rate is not in our vocabulary. Short films remain a long-term guarantee for living, imaginative cinema, and in that regard, Clermont’s credit rating is rock solid.
Euro Connection 2009 : this new forum bringing European professionals together for discovering and promoting some twenty promising short film projects will take place on Tuesday 3 February.

21st International Competition
Masterpieces of animation, comedies, contemporary realities, genre films, graduation films from some of the finest film schools : the arresting selection of films in the fourteen programmes of this competition brings together and confronts the art of filmmakers from all over the world. Rather than a quick trip around the world, these 75 films from some fifty countries offer a refreshing spree amidst the young film creation.

8th Lab Competition
The Lab competition asserts itself as the fertile, surveying grounds dedicated to radical, pioneering visual adventures. Electrifying bridges, arresting viewpoints, accomplished risk-taking, Clermont-Ferrand’s Lab swings the door open onto fantastic regions where imagination thrives and images fly out in an impressive number of exciting directions.

31st French Competition
What’s so astounding about French production is how prolific it is: more than 1,300 films registered last year with as many this year. What’s astonishing about French short films is the rigorous professionality of their production, the brillliance of film-school work, and the spontaneity of the free electrons that give each vintage its own particular coloration. And Clermont is of course where this tasting takes place.


Panorama
Netherlands
A special focus will present an exciting selection of Dutch Short Films, wrapped up in six programmes.
A majority of the films that will be presented were made in the last fifteen years. They cover a vast array of genres and styles and testify for the creativity and talent of Dutch filmmakers. The audience will be pleased to see re-runs of past Clermont-Ferrand selections or awards (The Chinese Wall, Special Jury Prize 2003 ; Father and Daughter, Best Animation Short 2001), and discover films presented for the first time as part of this focus.
This will also be the opportunity to showcase a number of landmark shorts from renowned directors Joris Ivens, Bert Haanstra, Johan van der Keuken, Paul Driessen, or Paul Verhoeven...
In addition to this, our “Retakes” strand will also revisit the works of Paul and Menno de Nooijer.


Panorama
Musical
1927 : Al Jolson is The Jazz Singer.
For the next 30 years there has been singing and dancing on the silver screen. Musicals kept reaching new artistic heights until the 50s, to later decline, until they became fashionable again recently under various forms.
The genre now tackles “serious” themes also, while remaining faithful to its origins in romance.
What we offer is a selection of thirty swinging, singing, musical gems from 1930 to today, from the US, India, Europe, Africa or South America, made in Technicolor or with a mobile phone, for pure entertainment or with a message to deliver. No doubt these musical short films will take you over the rainbow.


Other delights

Retakes
Two pairs of filmmakers who love to experiment: Paul and Menno de Nooijer from the Netherlands, and the Swedes Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson.

A Free hand given to Les Films du Nord
Two programmes of short films chosen by the 2008 Procirep prize-winning producer.

Lussas documentary school
Two programmes of films from the Master in directing documentary films.

French Regions Showcase
Selection of short films shot and financed in the French regions.

African Perspectives
French-speaking African short films.

Music Videos
A selection of wide-ranging, first class music videos.

Distributors’ programmes
A selection of the latest short film programmes having been commercially distributed in the past year.

A programme for schools
Script readings and meetings with directors are to be organized.

Kids
Various programmes are proposed for the delight of children.


24th Short Film Market
The Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market is a space devoted to professionals. It is the favoured place of exchange between delegates from all branches of short film production worldwide. The market will take place from January 31 to February 6, 2009 in a gymnasium 20 meters far from the Maison de la Culture.

Video Library
All the films entered at the Market are available for viewing on 35 video terminals thanks to the Clermont-Ferrand’s video server.

Market Catalogue
Find the 5,300 films and all their contacts in what is considered the yearly bible of short film production. Three versions are available: the online version, the interactive version and the hardback one.

Exhibition Hall
International promotion bodies keenly share 1,000 sqm of exhibition space where they promote their business.

Market Screenings
Offer outstanding exposure to your latest productions or purchases (film and video).

Video Terminal
Enjoy directly on your booth the new facilities offered by the video server to which the Market video library is connected.

Professional Directory
A must-have brochure where some 3,000 attending delegates are listed, with their hotel, travel dates and pigeon-hole contact number.

MEDIA Rendez-Vous Area
On location throughout the entire duration of the Market, specific secretarial services supply free assistance in arranging your business appointments.

Professional Meetings
MEDIA forums with industry delegates who are very much in demand: Canal +, Arte (France), TPS, France 2, France 3, TV Man Union (Japan), SBS (Australia)…

Market 2008
66 TV delegates
83 distributors
20 video publishers
17 VOD providers
115 organisations in the exhibition hall
428 French and international festival delegates