Is it a big deal to get selected for the Cannes short film corner?

rishi851

rishi851

One of my friends is bragging on facebook on how his short has been selected for the short film corner and will play there in Cannes. He's even been interviewed by the local newspaper and everyone is congratulating him on his wall.
I looked it up and it says I must pay a fee. What's the deal?
 
There actually is no big deal. 2000 short films play in the Short Film Corner a year.

It's purely a marketing thing really. I'm on my phone, later today I'll recall the best use of it I've heard of.
 
Well, it is always cool to be selected.
It's even cooler if you can go there.
(Never been there, but I've been in Nice, which is nice and around the corner of Cannes, and several other places along the Côte d'Azur.)

For a lot of festivals you have to pay a fee and wait to see whether or not you are selected.

If he is your friend: be happy for him and ask how he did it.
If he is bragging too much, ask 'Mr Spielberg' to come down to earth ;)
 
Everyone who pays the fee is selected. That is not like most film festivals where less
than 20% of the entries are selected. For the Cannes Short Film Corner the short films
are available to watch in a booth. Anyone can watch - much like going to YouTube and
finding a movie and clicking on it. With aggressive advertising a short can rack up a
few hundred views. Most are never looked at at all.

Because they accept every movie submitted I feel it's not much of an honor.
 
That is interesting to know, Rik!
I guess rishi's friend is using the Cannes word at home to his advantage :P
 
Okay! I'm at my computer now and can tell the story that was told to me.

So one of my instructors (Nikki Wilson, Fantastic Four / Jurassic World) has a previous student that got his short film screened at the Cannes Short Film Festival. Instead of telling people just that, he told everyone "I'm screening at Cannes" and hired a 1,500$ Agent to represent him at Cannes.

He marketed the crap out of it on social media that he was screening at Cannes without ever mentioning it wasn't in the major section or that it was in the Short Film Corner. He completely alluded the whole situation.

I'm not sure what the agent did, I guess told people about the person who hired him? Or she had a feature pitch she was selling for him. Either way, after all his marketing on social media and his agent, someone took notice of this "Cannes Screened" director and offered him a feature deal.

So yep. It's all about how you market it.
 
directorik said:
Everyone who pays the fee is selected. That is not like most film festivals where less
than 20% of the entries are selected. For the Cannes Short Film Corner the short films
are available to watch in a booth. Anyone can watch - much like going to YouTube and
finding a movie and clicking on it. With aggressive advertising a short can rack up a
few hundred views. Most are never looked at at all.

Because they accept every movie submitted I feel it's not much of an honor.
Click to expand...

I met my friend today and he told me that there are 90,000 submissions out of which 2000 are selected and played in a booth like thing at the short film corner in Cannes. So it isn't like you pay and you get selected, according to him.
 
rishi851 said:
I met my friend today and he told me that there are 90,000 submissions out of which 2000 are selected and played in a booth like thing at the short film corner in Cannes. So it isn't like you pay and you get selected, according to him.
Click to expand...
Then he is right to brag on Facebook and have everyone congratulating him
on his wall.

At 85€ Cannes makes a cool 7,650,000€ (A little more than 9.3 million dollars)
on entry fees alone. It's no wonder they keep this Short Film Corner alive.

I'd love to know how many times your friend's film is watched.
 
directorik said:
I'd love to know how many times your friend's film is watched.
Click to expand...

The cynic in me is coming out ;)

But:

I've had friends short films and short films I've shot/worked on go to Short Film Corner. The prestige that gets associated simply because you say 'Cannes' 'Film' and 'selected' in the one sentence is ridiculous.

Like it or not, in my experience at least, there are people will look at a Director who's had a film screen at Cannes, even in the Short Film Corner, differently to those who haven't.

There are more 'prestigious' awards and selections, but if all you want is the ability to say you've had a film go to Cannes on your CV... (and lets face it, if you're making a short film and sending it to Cannes, that's more likely your end goal, or at least AN end goal)
 
jax_rox said:
The cynic in me is coming out ;)

But:

I've had friends short films and short films I've shot/worked on go to Short Film Corner. The prestige that gets associated simply because you say 'Cannes' 'Film' and 'selected' in the one sentence is ridiculous.

Like it or not, in my experience at least, there are people will look at a Director who's had a film screen at Cannes, even in the Short Film Corner, differently to those who haven't.

There are more 'prestigious' awards and selections, but if all you want is the ability to say you've had a film go to Cannes on your CV... (and lets face it, if you're making a short film and sending it to Cannes, that's more likely your end goal, or at least AN end goal)
Click to expand...

Yeah but it depends on the audience who knows what. Yeah, your father and his friends and your random college audience will be enticed by the SFC tag just because of the tag "cannes". But if that person sits among us I doubt he would even bring it up that he sent his film for the SFC let alone screened it. I read a few forums and one person said he'd actually not advertise the fact that his film got selected.
 
directorik said:
At 85€ Cannes makes a cool 7,650,000€ (A little more than 9.3 million dollars) on entry fees alone. It's no wonder they keep this Short Film Corner alive.
Click to expand...

Wow, so if you want to make some serious wedge in the film industry it seems that either a Hollywood blockbuster or a short film corner are the best bets.

7,650,000€ a year would be very nice indeed. On the other hand, having to sit through and evaluate 90,000 shorts, how long before I'd want to blow my own brains out? :)

G
 
rishi851 said:
Yeah but it depends on the audience who knows what. Yeah, your father and his friends and your random college audience will be enticed by the SFC tag just because of the tag "cannes". But if that person sits among us I doubt he would even bring it up that he sent his film for the SFC let alone screened it. I read a few forums and one person said he'd actually not advertise the fact that his film got selected.
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised. The number of CVs that have 'Short Film Corner' on them, or funding applications...

It was on my bio, just because it can give funding applications a little extra... something if needed.
 
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