Mutoscope

Mutoscope: The Festival of Mutant Short Films in Lyon

Born in 2021 at the Comoedia cinema, in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon, Mutoscope is a short film festival like no other. Supported by the association ZoneBis, also behind the famous Hallucinations Collectives festival, Mutoscope explores the most unique, strange, and bold territories of contemporary cinematic creation.

Films That Disturb, Surprise, and Fascinate

The very name of the festival is a manifesto: the mutoscope, a mechanical ancestor of cinema, evokes fascination with moving images, while the term "mutant" refers to works that deviate from norms, narrative and aesthetic conventions. Fiction, documentary, animation, live-action, experimental cinema: all genres are represented, as long as the films offer a unique, disturbing, or visionary perspective on the world.

A Rich and Demanding Program

Each edition features an official competition spread across several screenings, with about fifty films selected from the most remarkable recent productions. Three awards are given to the best works: the Jury Prize, the Audience Award, and the Turfu Selection Prize, awarded by a jury of young filmmakers from CinéFabrique, the national film school in Lyon.

Beyond the competition, the festival offers special non-competition screenings, retrospectives dedicated to avant-garde filmmakers, and focuses on independent animation studios. The programming, intentionally demanding and eclectic, is aimed at a discerning audience, curious and open to the most inventive forms of short cinema.

The Comoedia, a Showcase for Lyon's Author Cinema

The festival takes place at the Comoedia cinema, a legendary venue in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon, known for its arthouse programming and its commitment to independent cinema. With its intimate theaters and warm atmosphere, the Comoedia offers an ideal setting for discovering rare and surprising films. The programming is not recommended for viewers under 16 due to the sometimes disturbing nature of the works presented.

A Festival Rooted in Lyon's Cinematic Ecosystem

Mutoscope is part of Lyon's rich cinematic tradition, the birthplace of cinema with the Lumière brothers. The festival helps make the Lyon metropolitan area a major hub for genre and avant-garde cinema in France, alongside Hallucinations Collectives, the Lumière Festival, and many other events dedicated to the seventh art.