Court en Scène

The international short film festival of Troyes

Court en Scène is a festival dedicated to international short films, created in 2016 by the Fata Morgana association in Troyes. Directed by Nicolas Panay, the festival is held annually in November in cinemas and cultural venues in Troyes and its surrounding area, notably in La Chapelle-Saint-Luc and Saint-André-les-Vergers. Its aim is to introduce the inhabitants of the Aube region to auteur cinema in short format and to create a true annual cinematic event in the department.

1400 films received, 30 selected, 3 competitions

Each year, Court en Scène receives approximately 1400 films from around the world — fiction, animation, documentaries — submitted via professional submission platforms. Among these submissions, 30 short films are selected by the selection committee to compete in three distinct competitions. The official competition features films of all nationalities in live-action format under 30 minutes. The Grand Est competition highlights regional productions, sometimes including films shot in Troyes itself. The European competition is dedicated to European films outside of France.

Youth and school screenings

Since 2017, Court en Scène has developed a youth section offering short film screenings suitable for children and families. Since 2019, school screenings have been organized in cinemas across the department, reaching nearly 1000 students from kindergarten to middle school. These screenings are accompanied by discussions and exchanges with the festival teams, contributing to media literacy and the discovery of auteur cinema from an early age.

International reach from Troyes

Despite its modest size, Court en Scène has earned an international reputation in the short film community. The festival attracts films from around the world — from Japan to Lithuania, from Brazil to Iran — and showcases works sometimes shot under exceptional conditions, such as the Franco-Japanese film *Homesick*, partially filmed in the Fukushima exclusion zone. Broadcast live on Canal 32, the local television channel, the festival benefits from media coverage that amplifies its reach beyond the cinema halls. The Fata Morgana association, with the support of the City of Troyes, the Grand Est Region, the Department of Aube, and the DRAC, has made Court en Scène an unmissable event on the Aube cinematic calendar.